Day 36 - What is truth?

The Bible is full of universal truth and wisdom but some of it – as we know - does need interpreting or contextualising. Sometimes, however, some words cut through that are so contemporary you feel they could have been written yesterday.

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful any more;

those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

Everyone lies to their neighbour;

they flatter with their lips

but harbour deception in their hearts.

May the Lord silence all flattering lips

and every boastful tongue –

those who say,

‘By our tongues we will prevail;

our own lips will defend us – who is lord over us?’ (Psalm 12 vv1-4)

These words from King David are 3,000 years old but they speak powerfully to our present times. Of all the destructive forces rampaging through the world we live in today, I believe the most dangerous and frightening is a failure to honour truth. “Truth” is seen by some in positions of power as flexible, malleable, relative and ultimately expendable. We have heard the phrase that “the first casualty of war is truth", but a flagrant disregard for truth is being seen more widely, shaping our public discourse and being used by some influential politicians to justify their actions. Some use their version of the “truth” for their own ends; at other times they disregard it altogether. When they are called out, they carry on regardless.

And it becomes insidious. If influential politicians can do it with apparent impunity, what does that mean for the rest of us?

It was Pilate who famously asked of Jesus at his trial in the early hours of Good Friday “what is truth?” (John 18:38). Whether this was political evasion, cynical scepticism, or a genuine philosophical enquiry on Pilate’s part, we can only guess.

Pilate could equally have asked “does truth matter?” Jesus’s response during his earthly ministry, and ours now, must be an emphatic yes. On another occasion, Jesus affirmed that: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14 v6). Jesus is not “a truth”, “a version of the truth”, or “one of several competing ‘truths’ from which we can choose”. No, he is THE truth. And, as he said on a different occasion, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8 v31-32).

In these turbulent times, and in our daily witness, we need to - through our prayers and our actions - uphold and revere the sanctity of truth. We must be vigilant in seeking it out; we must uplift and applaud those that hold the powerful to account. Wherever we can, we must speak truth to power. Most importantly, we must live it ourselves.

But we can take heart. Psalm 12 goes on to offer words of hope.

‘Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,

I will now arise,’ says the Lord.

‘I will protect them from those who malign them.’

And the words of the Lord are flawless,

like silver purified in a crucible,

like gold refined seven times.”

You, Lord, will keep the needy safe

and will protect us for ever from the wicked,

who freely strut about

when what is vile is honoured by the human race.” (Psalm 12 v5-8)

Let us give thanks that the flawless words of the Lord will keep us safe and protect us from those who freely strut about, even when their vile words appear to be honoured by so many.

Philip Clarke