It’s strange how we all want those around us to be truthful, yet our culture has been so degraded that we’re careless with the truth. No one likes to be lied to, yet so many of us lie. When “situational ethics” first came into prominence, we were told in some situations it was best to lie rather than tell the truth and hurt someone’s “feelings.”

When Jesus was on trial before Pontius Pilate, he told Pilate he had come to “testify to the truth.” Pilate responded by saying, “What is truth?” Pilate had risen to such a high position and didn’t know what “truth” was. Before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples, “I am the way, and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). In the first chapter of John, he said of Jesus, “For the law was given through Moses; but grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Apparently, our Heavenly Father thinks truth is a good thing because it appears in Scripture 333 times! Yet so many are careless with the truth. It seems to me the church in America has not had the courage to stand up for the truth. Some churches have changed what Scripture clearly says so as not to offend those whose lives are lived in direct opposition to God’s Word.

Christian author Eric Metaxas recently penned a book, Letter to the American Church. He clearly lays out the similarity of the church in America to the church in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. As Hitler gained more and more power, few pastors were willing to acknowledge the threat he posed not just to Germany but to the world.

But one pastor had the courage to not only stand up to Hitler’s power grab but to try desperately to wake up his fellow pastors. Dietrich Bonhoeffer paid the ultimate price for his courage, being arrested and executed. Of the nearly 18,000 churches in Germany at the time, only a few thousand spoke out; the rest were silent, and the results of their cowardice cost the lives of millions.

Is what Metaxas saying true? Are we afraid of not being liked or offending those who ridicule our faith? Do we want to be popular more than be faithful to God and his Word? As churches and denominations lose members each year and the number of “Nones” (no affiliation) grow, can we not see the culture is winning our children and we are doing nothing to stop it?

David Wilkerson, the founder of Teen Challenge, often said, “The church is not called to be relevant, but repentant.” The absence of truth is seen all around us. The mainstream media lost any relationship with telling the truth decades ago. Yet millions in our nation base their decisions and their voting on lies. Lying in business dealings, cheating on tests, getting elected, serving in government — I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

For America to return to the nation we once were, people need to know what is truth and what is a lie. The sources I listed above will not do that; so, we must. One of the most powerful statements Jesus made was found in John 8:32: “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Are there enough truth tellers still left to turn the tide?

Something to pray about!
Semper Fidelis