Today's blog is from a missionary friend of mine, Jim Ehrhard. I read the following in his quarterly update and agreed with all of it. It is definitely worth sharing and since I've been sick, it's a great time for me to have a guest writer. THANK YOU Jim for your wisdom and sharing with us all.
What really matters? Black lives matter! Blue lives matter! All lives matter! While all these statements are true, one thing matters more - truth. And when truth no longer matters, nothing else will.
For
Christians, truth is an absolute. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks about the
resurrection of Jesus. He presents a long list of witnesses who saw Jesus risen
from the dead. He even includes a group over 500 people who saw Jesus at the
same time. Paul tells us that, if the resurrection did not take place, then we
are liars and we are above all men to be most pitied! Why? Because Truth
matters!
America
today is experiencing a great crisis. It is not a racial crisis as the media
would have you believe. It is a truth crisis. I
lived through the race conflicts of the 60s and 70s and the ones today are very
different. Those who protested in the 60s believed they were voices of truth. Martin
Luther King Jr. articulated the foundations of that movement: "I have a
dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character." That dream is still my dream for America today.
But
listen to what King warned about in his speech:
But there is something that I must say to my
people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice:
In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful
deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the
cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high
plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to
degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the
majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
And
King gave an important warning – a warning that needs to be voiced today.
Without this understanding, those protesting racism today quickly become
racists ….
The marvelous new militancy which has
engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white
people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here
today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And
they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our
freedom. We cannot walk alone.
But the
crisis today is not racial. It is a crisis of truth. I grew up during the 60s
and saw systematic racism everywhere. I lived in the South in the 70s when
segregated restrooms and water fountains still existed and blacks were still
not welcome in many white restaurants. And even though these things were not
legal, you were warned not to cross those lines! After living back in the North
for 2 decades, I returned to the Deep South in the 90s and found a world
transformed from the 60s and 70s. Instead of public segregation, blacks and
whites ate together in the same restaurants! And not only that, blacks and
whites often sat at the same tables enjoying each other's company! The racism
of the 60s seemed a distant past. I know there are exceptions - there always
will be. I know we still have a way to go to eradicate racism. But the truth is
we have made great progress as a nation on racial equality. The crisis today is
whether or not truth will be allowed to be voiced.
This is
the scariest part of what is happening today. If truth is not allowed to be
voiced, then only the loudest and most violent will have any voice. That is
what is happening today. As a historian, I am shocked to see that the tactics
used today are the same used by the “brown shirts” (Nazis) in the 1930s. They
would follow those who did not support them into restaurants and publicly
humiliate and intimidate them, and if that failed, they would resort to
violence. They even required people to show their support of their movement or
their businesses would be attacked. Today, America is losing the possibility of
free speech, not by legislation (at least not yet), but by intimidation. In
such an environment, truth is effectively silenced. And when truth no longer
matters, nothing will matter.
But
most important, how should believers respond? Here
are some biblical principles to consider.
1. Search
diligently for the truth. I know this is not always easy and takes
time. A number of years ago, I began to see that most of the news headlines
were sensational or designed to mislead. For example, I would read a quotation
attributed to someone on one media and then look to find the full text online.
Most of the time, the headline quotation was taken out of context or even
totally absent from the full text. I was alarmed by the complete dishonesty
shown by journalists in reporting the news. Proverbs 2:4-6 tells us to look for
wisdom like you would look for silver. Truth is precious. It might take you
some time to search and find the truth, but the truth is worth it!
2. Be
careful to only share the truth. I am saddened that the
media not only distorts the truth but intentionally hides it. It bothers me
even more when Christians do the same to support their political views. As
believers, we need to be sure that we share only the
truth. I see many posts by Christians that also distort the evils of left and
even attribute false quotes to various leaders. We need to remember that “The
Lord detests lying lips” (Proverbs 12:22). Not just liberal ones but lying
ones! That includes ours.
3. Speak
the truth – in love. In Ephesians 4:15, we are told to “speak the truth in love” so
that we may “grow up into Him.” Make sure that even when you speak the truth,
you speak it with grace and love. When Jesus came, he came, not just with truth
but “full of grace and truth.” When we speak the truth, we need to be sure we do so
with grace and truth! Our witness is affected
when we respond back to angry people in anger. James 1:19 says, “Quick to
listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. For the anger of man does not
achieve the righteousness of God.” Make sure you speak the truth – in love!
4. Be
humble. When you make a mistake, correct it. When you say something
wrongly, apologize. Don’t think we as Christians are always right. We certainly
do not act righteously all the time. I often tell people that I would rather be
“righteous” than “right.” Truth matters – but so do our attitudes and actions.
We need to share the truth, but always in love. In 1 John 1:8, we are reminded:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in
us.” We may think we have “the truth” on our side, but if we use it in a sinful
manner, then are only deceiving ourselves – and, although the truth might be on
our lips, “the truth is not in us!”
5. Saturate
yourself in God’s truth. Jesus prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify
them in truth; thy Word is truth” John 17:17. There is no better way to stay
focused on the truth than to stay grounded in God’s Word. It not only informs
us what the truth is, it also checks our character and corrects us when we wander
from the truth. Make this your prayer: “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk
in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11). Saturate
yourself in God’s truth from God’s Word.
What
really matters? Truth – take truth out of the equation and you have nothing.
Black lives definitely matter. But so blue lives, white lives, and all lives.
That’s the truth. If we ever lose that, we lose everything.
