Reminding myself of what my step 4th cousin 6x removed, John Adams, once said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” See how I worked my lineage into that? Ancestry.com holds a treasure trove of facts if you’re willing to do your homework.
This seems like a good time to quote an old saying. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on”. That’s hilarious but oh-so-true. Once whispered into the world-wide-web of confusion a lie can never be retrieved and substituted for the truth. After all, if it’s on the internet it must be true.
Seriously though, is the world of social media a reliable platform for truth? Truth regarding just about anything? With Photoshop and other image altering software, we’re not even sure the shot, or even worse the video we’re watching is real. And that’s just images. For many, it’s the best truth-stretching medium of all time. There are plenty of Twits on Twitter tweeting out their relative truth with impunity. Living for the likes. I remember the day if you wanted to lie to someone you had to do it to their face.
There is no way for us to know absolute truth other than what the Bible teaches. As flawed human beings, we don’t process what we read impeccably. We apply logic and experience. We know the definitions of words and phrases but even then, the original Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic can carry a completely different meaning than what’s been translated into English. We need to be diligent in our reading and research. But the Holy Spirit will illuminate all Scripture for our knowledge and understanding. Then our subsequent actions will align with God’s truth and the truth of His Word.
We MUST begin to process our truth through a different lens. The lens of love. The lens that becomes clearer the more we rely on the Holy Spirit to re-interpret our circumstances, the impact of societal norms, culture, and the influence of others on our lives.
The Apostle John captured the words of Jesus perfectly and makes my entire point:
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13 ESV)
To sum it up, as Christians we have a responsibility to defer judgment, to love God, love others, and seek the Holy Spirit for TRUTH. He has all the answers we’ll ever need or want.
And that’s the Memo,
Steve
*excerpt from an early blog post*
