The Difficulty with Truth

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Truth is difficult when it doesn’t match fabricated reality. 

Jesus defines Himself as not only THE way, but also THE truth (John 14:6) before telling His disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). America has forgotten what truth is, and as a result, the people of America do not keep God’s commandments. The commentary in the wake of the mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub reveals this. What Omar Mateen did was indisputably wrong—evil, in fact, yet some of the reactions towards what he did are revealing.

As I watched news shows Monday morning, I saw openly gay men and women praising God that they got out of the gay nightclub just in time to avoid the brutal massacre. Did you catch that? Those who enthusiastically oppose God’s design for men and women and who flaunt their sins in despicable ways were praising the One they do not know or understand.  These same people seem to have every intention of resuming their sinful lifestyles and are deluded by the “lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life,” which doesn’t come “from the Father, but is from the world” (1st John 2:16). In the verse prior, John warns not to love the world or anything in it: “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” This is a hard teaching in all aspects for all people in a world turned upside down. However, even though some choose this lifestyle, every person who calls himself/herself a Christian must abstain from loving the world while at the same time loving the people in it. Jesus commands us to “love one another” (John 15:17) with no caveats. Truth. It’s difficult.

I read several posts by Christians promoting loving the ones caught in the gay lifestyle instead of judging . . . and I was cheering them on until I got to the part where they promoted the gay pride parades and celebrations in a show of solidarity. That part I don’t agree with, and that is the part that gets the rants and raves on the news shows and on social media sites. Because Christians do not live by the same standards as the world, we are judged as being harsh and unloving. Jesus spoke of this also in the verse following the one where He said to love one another: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Love the sinner, yes, but hate the sin (an idea taken from St. Augustine's letter to a convent in 211) he/she is caught up in. Hating the sin means helping all people (not just in the LGBTTQQIAAP community) understand the Truth that can save them—not letting them stew in behaviors and thinking that will keep them from the gates of heaven. Is it really love if I let them think they’re okay when God’s Word clearly shows otherwise? Hard truth. It’s difficult at best.

I saw several posts/comments/newscasts dealing with the idea that President Obama failed to call the act one of radical terrorism.  Not realizing the truth before it’s too late—that’s disturbing—but it’s going to get more difficult as time goes by. The second Psalm speaks of the nations and kings and rulers of the earth taking their stand and devising vain things “together against the LORD and against His anointed” (vs. 1-2). (By the way, in the verses following, God scoffs at these plans that are doomed from the start . . . ) 

Psalm 15:2 relates King David’s thoughts about what it takes to abide with God and actually dwell with Him, which are seemingly far from the thoughts of many of the ones who rule our nation—it takes one “who walks with integrity and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.” 

Truth. It’s difficult these days, but Jesus spoke truth both to those who heard it and repented and to those who crucified Him for doing so. Will we, even when it means looking at ourselves closely and applying that same truth?



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