Being Purveyors of Truth
There is a lot of talk about truth in the Scriptures. In John 14:6, Jesus claimed he was the truth. He also said in John that if we integrate his teaching into our lives, we will know the truth and be set free. (8:31-32) And the Lord said this to Zechariah: “
Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty,“so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. (8:14-17)
God hates the distortion of truth. Note that he does not say “depending on the circumstances” or “depending on who is distorting truth.” Regardless, he hates it.
Over the past several years, people I know have posted things on social media that they claim is true, but I have recognized as suspicious of distortion or is outright false. Typically, these are directed at people or situations that reflect their views of the world. There were two stories of famous college football coaches—Deion Sanders and Nick Saban—who kicked players off their teams who kneeled during the national anthem. Neither happened. There is also the claim that Meta founder, Mark Zuckeberg, said the Lord’s Prayer didn’t meet the community standards of their platforms. He never made this claim.
What is disconcerting to me is that the people posting these lies are folks who claim to be Christians. I am guessing they and others post these untruths because it is what they want to believe to be true. If you are appalled at athletes kneeling in protest during the national anthem, then you read a claim that a coach did something about that, then that would excite you and be received as good news. So you pass it on. Or if you think so and so is a terrible person and you read a post attributing a quote or action that reinforces your view, then you’ll want to pass it along as a digital “See, I told you so!”
I think we all have the tendency of wanting to believe things that confirm our already existing point of view. If we think ill of someone, and we hear or read something that seemingly confirms our view of them, we are less likely to ask, “Is that true?” Rather, we will assume it is. In the same way, if we have deep admiration for someone and hear or read something terrible about them, we will likely not believe it, even if it is true.
In the Zechariah passage I quoted earlier, the Lord says he hates lies and distortions of truth. Regardless of whom they are told or from whom they come, God hates all lies. And he loves the truth, so he commands us to speak it (or write it) to one another. And not only are we commanded to be purveyors of truth, we are promised that in doing so, we will be set free. But from what?
I can only speculate, but it seems that there is great freedom in dealing in the truth. There is no guilt. There is no anxiousness in trying to make an untruthful story consistent in every re-telling. There is no dread of being found out. And there is freedom from being beholden to lies because they seem to reinforce what we believe. In other words, we’re free from constructing a worldview held together or supported by lies. Instead, we allow the truth to inform our worldview. Just as Jesus said, if we pursue obedience to him, we will find the truth and can live by it.
© Jim Musser 2024 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.
