Being People of Truth

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.

Isaiah 5:20

In Isaiah’s day, the people of Israel, especially her leaders and teachers, had forsaken God’s truth. In fact, they justified their own injustice in ways that turned truth on its head, calling evil good, dark light, and bitter sweet.

The same is true in our day. Political spinmeisters are masters of linguistic inversion. Pop culture bombards us with messages contradictory to God’s truth, telling us that sex outside of marriage is just fine, that selfishness is laudable, that physical appearance means more than character, that the purpose of life is fleeting happiness. Even our religious leaders can get into the act, blessing as holy that which God has revealed to be sinful.

Though we rightly bemoan these falsehoods, they give us an unprecedented opportunity to live distinctively. If we who belong to Christ will be people of truth, we will shine his light into our dark world. Being people of truth is a matter both of speech and action. It means knowing, saying, and living the truth. Such a life is centered in Christ, the one who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Are you a person of truth? Do you speak and live truthfully . . . a life full of truth? When are you tempted to be less than truthful? Which of the lies of our world snare your soul most easily?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, as I look at the world in which I live, I’m struck by how much it is like the world of Isaiah. All around me people are saying that good is evil, and dark is light, and sweet is bitter. I am also struck by how easy it is for me to become caught in this web of falsehood, even to become a spinner of the web myself.

Forgive me, gracious Lord, for the times I fail to speak or to live the truth. Forgive me when I let the lies of this world blot out your timeless truth.

Help me to be a person of truth, not only in my words, but in my mind, my heart, and my actions. Help me especially in contexts where truthfulness is risky, where it seems so much easier simply to lie. Give me wisdom to know when and how to speak the truth. May my whole life be anchored in you, because you are the truth. Amen.

A P. S. from Mark:
If this idea of living truthfully is one you want to pursue further, you might find helpful a book I have written called Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty.