GN Commentary: November 13, 2008 - Truth Matters

How important is truth to you? What kind of reputation do you have where truth is concerned?

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Video Transcript

I have some exciting news!  Here in my hand is the pill you have been waiting for!  When you take this pill, you can eat all the foods you love and still lose weight—without any unpleasant dieting or exercise!  And— you'll never feel hungry!

Do I detect a little skepticism on your part?  Good for you!  It's pretty obvious that if I had a pill that did all of that, I'd be using it myself.

How many times each day do you receive messages, ads, e-mails that contain misinformation, distortions, or downright lies?  All too often in our world of instant communication, truth has become a casualty of our perceived need to know.  In the rush to be the first with breaking news, accuracy often falls by the wayside.

If you're like me, when well-meaning friends and relatives forward those almost unbelievable stories from the Internet, you do a little checking before you just pass them on to someone else.  While some may not see any harm in passing on misinformation, they're actually harming themselves.  After someone has sent two or three items that turned out to be less than factual, you become suspicious of everything they send you.

Carelessness and deception are not confined to personal Internet communications either.  Perhaps you're aware of the recent pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as seen on TimesOnline.  Western sources believe the North Korean leader suffered a stroke a few months ago, and there has been much speculation about his current health.  In an effort to convince the world that Kim Jong Il is fine, on November 5th, the Korean Central Agency released a picture of the leader standing with a group of soldiers from the Korean People's Army.  Photo experts around the world quickly declared that the photo appeared to be digitally altered.  Among other clues, Kim's shadow was completely different from the shadows of the others in the picture.  North Korea certainly isn't alone in ignoring the importance of honesty and integrity, and few governments have always given “the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.”

How important is truth to you?  What kind of reputation do you have where truth is concerned?  Is the concept of truth nothing more than an interesting philosophical discussion?  When you make decisions that impact your life and the lives of your loved ones, do you want to make those decisions with a full knowledge of the truth, or are you content with half-truths, distortions, and lies?

There is a famous book that addresses the issue of truth—truth about relationships between nations and truth about the most intimate of relationships within a family.  It offers truth about finances, health, child-rearing, work, education—the list is almost endless.  And the chances are good that you already have a copy of that book somewhere in your own home.

Isn't it time to open up that book—the Bible—and discover what amazing truths it contains?  Examine it and see for yourself what the ultimate author of truth—God Himself—is willing to show you about how to live a happy, productive, purpose-filled life.

If you'd like some help getting started, we invite you to check out the resources at gnmagazine.org.  We'll be happy to help you discover the truths the Bible contains, and we'll do it free of charge. And that's the truth.

For GN Magazine, I'm David Johnson.