Have you ever heard it said, “The truth hurts”? Sure, you have. We all have. I’ve been thinking about this expression a lot as of late, and I feel compelled to add to it…
The truth hurts when you refuse to live by its standard.
Allow that to simmer for just a moment, and let me unpack it a bit. Before we go any further, grab your Bible and get ready to look up the verses I’ve included below. The more I think about the word truth, the more I envision the face of Jesus Christ. When Jesus said, “ I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6), I really believe that He meant it. Therefore, you and I can dispense with the notion that truth is relative. Because it’s not. Truth has a standard and a name, and His name is Jesus Christ.
The more you and I live outside of the moral boundaries that God set up for us within His Word (Proverbs 1:7), the more the truth will hurt when it is spoken. Truth is like a light that illuminates the darkness, and the darkness is not typically fond of being exposed because unmentionable things can be hidden within its shadows. Exposure can be scary and painful but ultimately it’s revealing. How? Exposure reveals the truth of what is really there. (Hebrews 4:12)
I’ve said it countless times before, and I imagine I’ll continue to say it. We live in a world that has grown sick and tired of The Truth. (2 Timothy 4:3) Our world has grown increasingly intolerant of being told what is right from wrong based on biblical principles and teaching. So, we’ve conjured up our own truths, and we have sought to live accordingly. The problem with this is that there is no longer a definitive standard. What is true and good for you is quite possibly neither for someone else. When did you and I earn the right or authority to determine what truth is? Answer: we haven’t. (Job 38 – yes, the whole chapter)
As difficult as the times are that we are living in and as muddied as the waters are that we are trying to navigate, let us not forget that we have not been left without a guide. God’s Word is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our paths. (Psalm 119:105) When we allow it to lead us as opposed to allowing the world to shape our thinking and ultimately our theology, we will find ourselves walking down straight paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
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