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How can we know what truth is? When one side says one thing and the other side says the opposite how can we know where the truth lies? It seems like everyone and everything is biased these days and our country is becoming more and more divided.
People won’t talk with people they disagree with and when they do there is often anger. If there is no anger it is because both people have decided to speak of nothing of consequence which is where many people, especially in the Midwest, retreat to. We seem to feel that openly disagreeing is rude so the person that screeches the loudest or burns the most buildings wins. It is like giving into the tantrum of a child when in public so that embarrassment can be avoided.
A human gauge of truth is to see what everyone else thinks. We consult the media, listen to polling and see where the money is flowing. We talk with our friends, our families and our favorite media commentators. What if the media has bias? What if the money is flowing towards that bias and the politicians are chasing that money or protecting their jobs? What if most people believe in what they see the media and the money and the politicians are doing so they figure that it must be the truth? At this point most people just shrug and keep to themselves.
King Solomon was the son of Israel’s King David. When Solomon ascended to the throne God gave him the opportunity to ask for whatever he wished. Solomon desired to be a good leader and asked for wisdom. The most famous story of his wisdom was of when two women from the same household each had a baby. One baby died and the mother that lost her baby stole the other woman’s child and called it her own. No one knew the truth but the two women. They were brought before King Solomon. He declared that the child should be cut in two. One woman said that was fair and the other begged King Solomon to spare the child’s life and to give the child to the other woman. King Solomon then declared that the second woman who was willing to give up the child was the child’s mother.
He had the wisdom of God. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom in Proverbs 9. If we fear the Lord, we obey the Lord. As we obey the Lord, He will guide us and instruct us in His ways. As we follow His ways, we will learn to discern truth.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5
Humans either turn towards God’s Truth or seek their own gods, their own “truth”. Seeking our own way leads to death for Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6
If you want to know truth then seek Truth. God promises each and every one of us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.”
When we know Truth, we have to speak Truth. We have to speak Truth in our schools, in our government, to our families, to our neighbors…. everywhere. We do not need to argue with others or defend His Truth. For the Lord says,
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11
