Undefining Truth
truth 1. the body of real things, events, and facts : (ACTUALITY) 2. the state of being the case : (FACT)
This is a traditional definition of truth. The issue is that for many folks (myself included) we occasionally take opinions and state these as truth
There are those of you out there (you know who you are 45) who take straight up lies and loudly proclaim them as truth until people cave. louder is only better in music (God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason...)
There is another definition of truth I would like to focus on.
truth 3. sincerity in action, character, and utterance : (FIDELITY, CONSTANCY)
This was the definition in the past- truth was more subjective You were true if you were sincere in what you did and what you said
When my life was insane (PC: Pre-Christian) I asked multiple times for just the truth. My family drama was intense with many-sided descriptions of the carnage.
God showed me that HE was the truth. In the Old Testament, God also was truth.
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Deuteronomy 32:3 For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. 4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
Psalm 33:4 For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth.
And of course there was Jesus... John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I need a God who is rock solid in truth- who cannot lie or repent we humans are half-crazy
Christian or not- we are sinful in nature and slow to come to the understanding of the Truth
This version of the truth leads to less judging God as truth is the only qualified judge. but we have an advocate
1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
The best we can do in our human state is to be as true to Him as we can while being sincere in our action character and utterance
There are many in the LGBTQIA+ community that are more sincere in their actions, character, and utterances than many Christians I know (sorry- knew)
What would be the opposite of someone who is truthful? The Bible tells us.
hypocrite 1. a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion 2. a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
The word hypocrite is a transliteration of two Greek words that had their roots in the theater. Actors would wear masks during a performance- to hide their true identities so they could interpret the story from underneath.
The Origin of 'Hypocrite' from Merriam-Webster
Jesus uses the term to address the Jewish leaders for being alive on the outside (mask) but dead on the inside.
So many Christians today are heaping scathing hatred on the LGBTQIA+ community from behind a mask of Christianity- ignoring what is most important.
Love God Love each other reconcile people to Christ so we all can enjoy a relationship with the God who created the universe
Grace & Peace Scott ps– all scriptures are NLT unless stated otherwise- all emphasis is my own. pps– subscribing by email is the best way to follow the winding writing path I am on (and I am pretty sure Jesus loves subscribers ;–)