“So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”
Written nearly 3,000 years ago, this passage is poetic, powerful, and prophetic… It is an accurate description of our culture today.
A few years ago, “post truth” was the most searched phrase on the web. We have become that society. “Truth is nowhere to be found” and each man does what is right in his own eyes. We elect leaders who say what our itching ears want to hear, and we are reaping the harvest. Truth has “stumbled in the streets,” we can no longer even define it, and we are afloat in a sea of uncertainty.
Not only do we no longer seek truth … we don’t tolerate it. Men of morality are vilified as haters. The world hates truth, so it calls truth hate, and those who preach it have become “prey”... They are hunted, slandered, and canceled. Our culture demands silent compliance, so what can the church do about it?
How about we become rebels and spread the truth anyway. Let’s shine a light on sin regardless of the consequences. Our timidness has emboldened the enemy, and as we sit silently, lies are repeated until they are accepted as truth. It is the emperor’s new clothes all over again, and someone is going to have to say something… Someone is going to have to speak the truth.
However, “speak the truth” is not the entirety of God’s command... God says someone is going to have to “speak the truth in love”. I can easily become angry enough to speak the truth …. But can I love others enough to do it? Truth lands differently when it comes from a place of love.
If I know people who are walking toward destruction, and I watch in silence so as not to offend …that is not love… But neither is screaming vitriol at them and hoping for their demise… So, speak hard truth today… Be accurate and don’t water it down… but don’t use it as a weapon… use it as a rescue rope to save those who are drowning in a sea of deceit.
“Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.” - Henri Frederic Amiel
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