Truth: What We Owe God, What We Owe Ourselves

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory.

2 Timothy 2:8-10

We are called to bear true witness to the world in all things. Of this, there can be no doubt.

The Ten Commandments include an explicit prohibition against lying.

Moses celebrated God as the God of Truth in his final message to the Israelites.

We are reminded of the importance of truth multiple times in Proverbs and again in the Psalms.

The prophet Zechariah reminded the Israelites of their obligation of honesty.

Long before Jesus came into the world, God's Will and God's Law were plain for all to see: always bear witness to the truth.

When it comes to what we say and how we say it, there is no more important quality than that our words be true.

When it comes to what we say and how we say it, there is no greater challenge than ensuring that our words are true.

Truth very often means telling people things they do not want to hear. Truth very often is greeted with anger rather than joy. Truth very often triggers retribution and violence, unjust though it may be.

People rarely want to hear the truth, especially when it is not good news for them. How often do we hear responses like “Don't say that!”? How often do we cringe when we sense someone is bearing us less than glad tidings?

Despite that challenge, we are still called to bear true witness in all things.

Why does truth matter so much? Why is it imperative that we bear true witness in all things?

Consider: What else could God be but the culmination of all Truth? What else would we make of our Creator but that He is, above all, the God of Truth?

God made the Heavens and the Earth. God created all the living things on this Earth. God is by definition the author of our past, our present, and our future.

God created all that we call “reality”. To apprehend the world around us is to apprehend God. By definition this must be so.

How can reality be anything but true? It cannot. Whatever is real by definition is true.

As God is the author of reality, He is therefore the author of Truth. As a simple matter of forms, He cannot be anything but the author of Truth.

If we are to serve God well, we must therefore be diligent in our honesty. We must bear true witness in all things.

Fail to do that and we fail to serve God. Reject truth and we reject God.

It matters not what consequences we endure. It matters not that we may suffer as a result of being true in our witness to the world. The Apostles Peter and Paul were assaulted and imprisoned for preaching the truth to the world. All of the Apostles endured martyrdom, all but John of Patmos dying in cruel and horrific ways, in direct consequence of their insistence on preaching the truth to the world.

Truth is no guarantor that our lives will be easy or comfortable. If anything, Truth is a guarantor that our lives will be neither easy nor comfortable.

Yet when we preach the truth to the world, we shine God’s Light into the world. When we preach truth to the world we give to all who listen a measure of hope, a promise of future goodness.

We cannot do that if we are dishonest. We cannot shine God’s Light anywhere if we reject Him by rejecting Truth in anything.

If we are sincere in our desire to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls, we will strive to be true in all things.

If we are sincere in our desire to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will strive to bear true witness in all things.

We owe God no less than this. We owe our neighbors no less than this. We owe ourselves no less than this.

My prayer this day is that I will rise to the challenge of bearing true witness to the world. My prayer this day is that I will not let fear of pain or privation deceive me into being less than truthful before the world. My prayer this day is that through true words I may lift up those around me, filling their lives with hope and promise of future goodness.

My prayer for you this day is that you also will rise to the challenge of bearing true witness to the world. My prayer for you this day is that you also will not let fear of pain or privation deceive you into being less than truthful before the world. My prayer for you this day is that through true words you also may lift up those around you, filling their lives with hope and promise of future goodness.

When we preach the truth to the world, we shine God’s Light into the world. When we preach truth to the world we give to all who listen a measure of hope, a promise of future goodness.

If we are sincere in our desire to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls, we will strive to be true in all things.

If we are sincere in our desire to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will strive to bear true witness in all things.

We owe God no less than this. We owe our neighbors no less than this. We owe ourselves no less than this.