Incontrovertible Truth

As many of you know I am doing a series at my blog titled, “Careless with the Truth” and the title comes from an Albert Einstein quote:

    “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”

This all began because a truthful blog commentary I tried to get published by a prominent internet publication was rejected because “yours is a point of view that would make most of our readers uncomfortable.” Now mind you nowhere are my facts disputed; the editor merely handed me the status quo of society’s “accepted truth” as evidence to why it was okay to perpetrate a lie.

So is it okay for us to ignore the truth or massage it just because it might make someone uncomfortable? Not according to Winston Churchill:

    “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.”

There it is.

What is the Body of Christ expected to do with the truth; do we have the luxury of attacking, deriding, ignoring, or massaging it? Let me ask you another question; are we lying if we don’t tell the truth? Is it okay with Jesus to tell a “white lie”, to withhold information, to deceive?

Yeah, I didn’t think so. The Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that as Christians we are not to lie to one another:

    “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:25)

We don’t even use the word “lie” anymore; we use “untruth”. Let me ask you something, something that will clear up all this politically correct nonsense. When you were growing up, were you taught to “never tell an untruth”?

When you learned the pleasant little legend of George Washington as a six year old boy cutting down the cherry tree, do you remember what he told his father when confronted? See if this jogs your memory:

    “I cannot tell an untruth, father, you know I cannot tell an untruth! I did cut it with my little hatchet.”

I believe the legend tells us little George could not tell a lie.

How have we come to this point if someone is lying or not telling the whole truth we are no longer allowed to call someone a liar? Stinking thinking, that’s how? I never wanted to nor do I today want to be considered a liar because I don’t want to be a liar, not because it might offend me. Somedays my integrity is all I have and doing the right thing and telling the truth is what gets you through the hard times when you are persecuted or ridiculed because of your faith.

Telling the truth is an important aspect of being a Christian. The Bible is filled with verses on telling the truth:

    “Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously.” (Psalm 119:29)
    “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3)
    “The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” (Proverbs 12:19)

In Ephesians 4:25 Paul was quoting the Prophet Zechariah:

    “These are the things you shall do: speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace.” (Zechariah 8:16)

Sometimes the truth is offensive; the gospel is offensive. To be told that “you ain’t all that!” and that your sin is so despicable that Jesus had to die for your sins, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But when you do accept the truth about your sin and accept Jesus’ gift of grace in salvation, then you see that humility and a willingness to admit your sins brings true liberty.

The truth is incontrovertible; that means it is “not open to question or dispute; indisputable.”

Perhaps if in today’s society people feared being called a liar because they are one; just maybe they would stop lying and embrace the truth.

I’m just sayin’…

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2010 David Jeffers

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