The truth. Or lack thereof. Our news has been inundated with it of late. Let's see... there was the whole "hands up. Don't shoot." of the Michael Brown fame and Ferguson Missouri. Not to belittle those instances where the police (or anyone for that matter) oversteps their authority, but this was seen imitated in congress, at NFL games, on T-Shirts, national news broadcasts, and in protests and demonstrations since. There is only one problem: It never happened. An entire movement in this country began and perpetuated on a lie.
This is perhaps one of the most notorious and visible examples, but lest we forget all of the apparent lies and mistruths that current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been caught in of late, (Google Hillary Clinton's lies and you'll get links as far back as 2008 - too many to provide a link here). Of course there's also the new "Baghdad Bob," - we can call him "Baghdad Barack," for all of his distortions of the truth when it comes to the handling of the ISIS threat. (remember Baghdad Bob from the 2003 second gulf war, claiming that Iraq had repelled the allied invaders as the allied tanks were rolling through the streets behind him?) Josh Earnest, the U.S. press secretary, seems to have trouble telling things like they really are. And of course, there is also the accusations of rape and sexual abuse that seem to abound in today's culture. This is not to diminish those who truly do suffer such abuse, but lately it seems fashionable to simply cry "rape" when in fact, it never happened. The most famous current example would be "mattress girl" - who, as facts come out because of a lawsuit filed by the alleged perpetrator, she was nothing more than a scorned and spurned college coed who decided to get even when the gentleman in question would not succumb to her sick and perverted sexual advances. The result? She destroyed and sullied another's life and reputation. And yes, she carried a mattress around Columbia University for a year, calling attention to a very serious matter, but once again, all based on a lie.
Lies in politics are called "spin." Lies in society are often referred to as "little white." Truth becomes stretched. Lies in a court of law are not supposed to happen, but yet the courts are inundated with lawsuits in which one side (often both) must necessarily be lying. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. So whatever happened to the truth? Why does the legend of George Washington not hold sway at all here in 21st century America? Why have we adopted a teleological ethic where "the end justifies the means," and therefore it is perfectly acceptable and permissible to lie to gain what one wants?
Now there is no need to begin quoting Scripture when it comes to the truth. Jesus speaks of the truth often, and when the world is caught up in its own lies, it is doing the bidding of the father of lies: the devil. Most people still seem to have an inkling that lying is not acceptable. And yet it permeates our society. Worse, the lies are accepted and acted upon, and often the results are horrible. Lives are ruined, towns are destroyed, hard working citizens are vilified, and the world is left a worse place than before. Lies lead ultimately to pain, accusations, bondage, powerlessness, and fear. Truth always leads to healing, grace, hope, freedom, power, and peace.
So where do we go from here? What can be done collectively to get back to the heart of the matter, namely the "truth?" Jesus does say "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." The implication is that in living, believing, or perpetuating lies will continue to bind us collectively, and keep us as slaves to evil. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "God's truth judges created things out of love, and Satan's truth (lies) judges them out of envy and hatred."
It would follow that to recapture a greater sense of truth means we must first recapture what it means to love our fellow man. Love is, after all, the greatest of the three remaining virtues (faith, hope, love - 1 Corinthians 13). In fact, lies are self-serving. Love is not. "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:5-7)
Yes. To recapture truth in society, we must also relearn how to love one another. And by the way? The greatest example of that love would be given in God's Son. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
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