There’s a great story about four high school boys who decided to skip their morning classes. After lunch they showed up at school and reported that their car had a flat tire. Much to their relief, the teacher smiled and said “Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper.” Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions. Then she said, “First question – which tire was flat?”
Truth has become an increasingly rare commodity in our world! The very idea that “truth always wins out” has been thrown out the window and in its place the ‘power brokers’ have taken over. You can see it everywhere – in politics, media, commercials – propaganda & conspiracy theories abound!! Once-sane people have lost the ability to rationally debate issues. Instead, we get ear-loads of cursing, name calling, & slander. Every time I hear or read this stuff I ask myself – “But is it true?” That, I submit, is the most important question we can dare to ask.
I read articles maligning our government, our heads of state, and our laws. There are many who think it’s a virtuous thing to try and assassinate our elected officials. It seems that ‘divide and conquer’ is alive and well in the United States and we are getting a textbook, up close look at Division 101.
Like it or not, truth is dying and it cannot help but have serious consequences for us all. Jesus said it in Matthew 12 – “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to resolution and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Abraham Lincoln echoed this thought in 1858 when he also said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Cannot!
It reminds me of an old story about a letter to a neighbor: It reads: Dear Frank. We’ve been neighbors for six tumultuous years. When you borrowed my tiller, you returned it in pieces. When I was sick, you blasted rap music. And when your dog went to the bathroom all over my lawn, you laughed. I could go on but I’m certainly not one to hold grudges. So I’m writing this letter to tell you that your houses on fire. Cordially, Bob.
America is on fire. Is anyone paying attention or are we all just adding on firewood?
Proverbs 12 tells us that “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” My advice to people is to always confront deceit & lies. When people just make stuff up, do we say nothing?! Proverbs 29 is 100% on target here: “When the godly are in authority the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.” Speak up or get ready for more groaning!
There is a stunning verse found in Joshua 24:19. Joshua has confronted the Hebrew people with truth. Many have chosen to follow idols so he called them all together and delivered these now famous words: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” What does the Word of God say about laws & boundaries, right & wrong, good & evil? Find the answers to these and you will find truth.
Gregory Elder tells of spending many hours at the beach and of building many sandcastles during the summers. One year some bullies appeared and smashed his creations. Day after day they would come and destroy what he had made. One day he
decided to do something about it. He gathered stones, rocks, blocks and other hard materials. He put them in place and covered them with sand to create his sandcastles. Just as the bullies appeared, he disappeared. He watched a good way off as these bullies – barefooted – ran off in pain as their bare feet had met their match.
I suppose, applying that narrative here, we could call these bullies secularism, politics, heresies, or just plain ol’ sins that kick at the foundations and structure of our society. If our structures are not built on The Rock (Jesus Christ & The Word) they will eventually crumble. After all, the Bible reveals truth as a moral concept rooted in God’s very character. As Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) so brilliantly noted: “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” Selah!
