The woman went shopping.  She wanted to buy something called ‘truth’.
‘We don’t have any in stock at the moment,’ said a sales assistant.
‘I can order it for you, but it may take a few weeks.
If you need it urgently I suggest you go online.’
And so she did.  She typed in the word ‘truth’.
The search engine went nuts.
There were millions of websites dedicated to ‘truth’.
It was confusing!
Each website had its own version of ‘truth’.
But the important question for her was: What is God’s truth?
Rachele and Gabby Tullio
God of the Sandpit

We live in a world where everyone owns “their truth.” We have thousands of interpretations and misconceptions and dissemblings masquerading as truth. We have half-truths and truth mislaid. Sometimes it appears that truth has lost its meaning and its way in a world where so many want to have the last word on all manner of things. An agenda can hide the truth.

There are many quiet Australians who live the truth of goodness and decency and conviction. They are bemused by those who try to hoodwink us with a chicanery that suggests we cannot see through these webs of deceit. However, it is hard to navigate the world of commentary and opinion when people do not want to engage in talk that might lead to the truth of consensus, rather than conflict.  

I am not on TikTok or Twitter, but I do read widely to try to find out the pros and cons of an issue and to take a balanced view. I admit that I have occasional bouts of confirmation bias, but I try to be as objective as possible so that the clarity of an issue is not clouded by different versions of “truth-telling.” So many of us are assailed daily by misinformation or disinformation and sometimes it looks true. Worse, it may feel true because we have been bludgeoned by so much of it for so long, we just cannot work out where the truth lies.

At heart, we yearn for the truth. And one of the reasons that this is so necessary is that it the truth is often plain and simple and obvious. It is not wrapped up in weasel words or disclaimers or the forked tongues of those who use words as weapons, rather than wonders. The truth is what shines out, like the shook foil of which Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote. It illuminates and lifts up, seeking always the light; that light which is the goodness we all possess.

With the morass of information that we take in every day, we need to take time to think things through, to sift, to discern, to pray, to extract what is beautiful, truthful and good. We do not need to get caught up in the tit for tat exchange over social media or become mired in the vitriol of the public square. We need to be restrained and measured. An opposing view does not have to be life threatening. An opposing view should not mean that we are de-platformed or cancelled. An opposing view can be an opportunity to look at an issue in a nuanced way and still hold our position on it. 

We are a human family, God’s children, with our frailties and foibles, our passions and predilections, our hopes and dreams. If we talk about dignity, as we so often do, we must also dignify the fact that others will see the world in different ways. 

This is when we need to offer the Jesus model as our own. This is when we need to act with God’s truth. It dwells within us, waiting to be exercised, energised for the betterment of all.

As we think about the truth in our lives, sometimes we need to reflect on what we do daily, in our own sphere, where we may have a voice or a platform. We are reminded of the words of Saint John Henry Newman: 

God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next … I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place… (Meditations on Christian Doctrine, Hope in God, Para 2, March 7, 1848). 

And so it would seem that wherever we are we can do good. We can be preachers of truth in our own places and spaces. This does not mean we use bombast and brimstone, but it does mean we engage with robust energy, active listening and a preparedness to hear the other view civilly.  We are the links in the chain of our worshipping community. The way we tell the truth of God’s love in our lives – and act it out in deeds  –  is the gift we pass on to the next generation who are seeking the truth in their own lives and circumstances.

I love the beautiful injunction from Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Let us think on the truth and live it in a way that finds ongoing joy in loving God and loving our neighbour.

By Ann Rennie