What is truth?

ALMOST half the people who took part in a poll carried out by American Marie Claire magazine said that they lie up to three times a day while they are at work. The survey also found that when it came to calling in sick, 71 per cent admitted to ‘stretching the truth’.

One feature writer admitted to inventing a sick aunt to gain a day off work and knowing a woman who massaged her CV by making up previous projects in an effort to boost her job prospects.

If we discover that someone has lied, it can be easy to take the moral high ground and shake our heads at the untruths told. But what about us? Do we always tell the truth?

What would we do if in a war zone we were hiding some refugees and a soldier knocked at the door, demanding to know if anyone was hiding inside the house? Tell the truth and condemn those people to certain death or lie to protect them? Many people would lie, and such scenarios have helped to bolster the belief that there are no moral absolutes.

So do we believe in right and wrong? Is ‘fibbing’ the same as lying? What circumstances, if any, condone the telling of untruths?

People may argue that there are degrees of lying, of right and wrong. It is argued that things are not always black and white – there is a grey area. Some people claim to be moral relativists, saying that what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another. Or that ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ depend on the situation.

Sometimes ‘the truth’ is not as straightforward as we think. Consequently making the right decisions becomes difficult and makes life confusing.

Jesus said some very strong things about the truth. Often he told his listeners: ‘I tell you the truth.’ The Bible says that ‘truth came through Jesus Christ’ (John 1:17 New International Version).

If we are looking for truth in a way that we can apply to our lives, we can find it by following Jesus. He said: ‘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 8:31, 32).

When we know Jesus’ truth, decision-making can become easier. The truth that Jesus offers can remove confusion and give direction to our lives.

UK War Cry July 2010