What Is the Truth?

My last post--about a month ago--was entitled, "The Truth Will Set You Free." And it will. But as we asked then, "What is truth?" We also mentioned that truth can be missed on either side of it--to the right OR to the left. We often miss at least a bit of the truth because of our own perspectives, and we must be very careful because of that.

For instance, a few years ago, my favorite team, Georgia Tech, beat our arch rivals (the university of georgia) in one of the most exciting games in history by the outlandish score of 51-48 in overtime. Now, uga was just about to score what would have been the winning touchdown. They were practically on our goal line. Rather than kick an easy field goal to win the game, they decided to run it in. Instead of the winning touchdown (which uga almost always scores at the end of the game to win), the official signaled a fumble and said that Tech recovered. We ran out the clock and won, as I said, in overtime. The fumble, however, was very controversial to some. For me, it was as clear as could be. Just because I was in the stadium in the upper deck on the opposite 40 yard line, and couldn't see underneath the pile, it was obviously a fumble! In fact, just about everyone wearing gold saw it as a fumble. Funny, anyone wearing red saw it as being down and a defender grabbing the ball after the runner was tackled. You get the point. We all are affected to some degree by our own perspectives.

That's why I often say to people, "There are at least two side to every story--and sometimes 5 or 6!" Sometimes it is honest. We say what we see, and we see from where we stand. At other times, hypocrisy or downright deceit enters into our telling selective facts and leaving others untold. We believe we should give our best spin and let someone else bring forth evidence of a different sort.

That's one reason I appreciate the Bible writers so much. The other week, as I continue preaching through the gospel of John, we were dealing with some of the absolutely ultimate claims that Jesus made about Himself and God the Father. I so much appreciate that John does not only give the claims of Jesus, but also states the objections from others to those claims. The example stated was in John 8 where his critics asked Jesus, "Aren't we right in saying you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"

Don't get me wrong--no one who reads John is unclear about his own opinions about Jesus. He states his purpose in writing is so that people will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing his readers will have life through the name of Jesus. He is not unbiased. Yet, he freely tells what others say about Jesus.

Why does John (and other gospel writers) feel so free to state what others are saying? It's simple: he is not afraid of the truth. Remember, the truth will set you free, and one day (maybe not here) all truth will be set forth and all will be made right. So those who love the truth aren't afraid to speak out what others say, for we believe the truth will be known, and the truth will bring freedom.

It's disappointing at times when some people set themselves up as the only arbiters of truth and spout it out only as they see it and are seemingly afraid for the other side (or sides!) to be given a hearing. I have been involved in, thankfully, only a few major disputes. Because I know that I am not infallible, I tell my side but try to tell people the view of the other side, even if I don't agree with it (obviously) or can't make much sense of it. And sometimes I can indeed understand the other side given their point of view, though I may think they hold the wrong point of view for assessing the situation.

Recently, I have been saddened and bothered by some issues in a disagreement between two Christian families (not in our church) who share similar visions and have worked together for many years. The decision to go in separate directions affects many other people.

I am saddened that sometimes it seems people can see things only from their own perspective and cannot even seem to appreciate the other person's point of view, even if they disagree with it. The real danger there is that we set ourselves up as righteous and the other side becomes the devil. This was often the case with Jesus' opponents. They were so sure they were right that they called Jesus demon-possessed. When we learn to at least see things from the point of view of the other person, though, we may move to a more healthy "Paul and Barnabas" kind of disagreement, where the differences are too real and the division too deep to resolve while staying together but where there can be mutual appreciation and support while going in different directions. Now, it may be that at times it really is a total "good vs. evil" situation, but often our inability to give someone else the benefit of the doubt points to our own lack of humility in assessing the truth. Paul once said that he didn't even judge himself but would leave that to his Lord.

Sometimes I will have a person come in to talk about someone else--whether a spouse or family member or other. This person may tell me all kinds of things about how bad the other person is. Knowing as I do that there are at least two sides to every story (and maybe five or six), I try to realize that it is wrong for me to form an opinion based on only one perspective. Since the person has come alone, however, I have found a way to try to get other perspectives. I may ask, for instance, "If so-and-so was sitting here, with us, what do you think his response would be to what you have said?" or "What would her side of the story be if she came in to tell it?" I feel a bit better when the person can actually tell me what he or she thinks the response would be. I feel an "uh-0h", though, when someone says, "I have no idea what he would say." Although not the only possibility, one possibility for that answer is that the person coming to me has made no attempt to understand the other person's point of view. And when that happens--or fails to happen--there can be no real communication.

Another sad thing in a situation like the one I have described is when self-appointed righteous people take sides and begin to "stir the pot" by calling others with all kinds of information and accusations, trying to get them to take sides. It is amazing that some can be so blind as to think by gossip, innuendo, and even name calling that they are advancing the cause of Christ and are on some kind of holy mission for God. I am reminded of Jesus' words to his disciples that some would kill them, thinking they were doing a service for God. The reputation of many can be murdered because we are so sure of the truth without having some humility.

The most disappointing of all, however, is that some people are so prone to listen to one side of a story and not even ask the other side involved for a response. It is almost beyond comprehension. If I had two really good friends who had a fight and one of them came to me with his side, should I not have the decency to at least call my other friend and say, "I have heard some really disturbing things about you and want to hear your side of it"? Are we so quick to believe bad about people we have loved and trusted that we don't at least give them a word? Forget our country's "innocent until proven guilty" ideal--isn't this just the way of Jesus?

In the situation I am aware of, hearing both sides helps me understand each's perspective. And I understand, I think, both perspectives though I don't agree with both. When disagreements arise between Christians or between Christian groups, it's important to ask, "What is the truth?" And the only way to discover that is to listen to different sides. When that has happened, let people judge which side they believe is closest to the truth. Let them move forward with that. But let us be careful of pitting the sides of Jesus versus the devil when it may be more on the line of Paul and Barnabas.

Yes, I am thankful that the apostle John is not afraid to share what critics of Jesus believe. I am glad that he is not afraid of the truth. I don't want to be afraid of the truth, either, because the truth has set me free.