5 reasons why truth matters

Society has changed.

Truth used to matter.

It doesn’t now.

Moral relativism pervades our culture proclaiming that there is no universal absolute truth but that truth is relative according to differences in people and culture. I’m sure you know what I mean.

The problem is, deep down we all agree that some things are right, and some things are wrong. The 9/11 attacks. The rape of a child. The miscarriage of justice. And so on.

So what is the danger of a culture which rejects absolute truth? Here are just 5:

1)      It robs us of meaning as people

When people realise there is nothing that answers the deep questions in life, such as ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What happens after death? they do one of two things:

They make up their own answers - that they are here to get all they can out of life. That life after death does exist but only as they imagine it.

Or they decide not to think about the question and distract themselves with entertainment their TV, iPod, mobile or DVD collection. Because I guess that when you lack evidence for your beliefs it is hard to dwell on it.

The reality is, most people manage to do both at the same time.

2)      It gives us no criteria for making moral decisions

The moral compass of a moral relativist has nowhere to point except to him/herself. A person that believes in objective truth approaches a moral dilemma and asks ‘what’s the right thing to do?’ A moral relativist asks ‘what’s going to make me feel good? After all, there is no truth.

3)      It deprives children of formation

When we encourage children to have self-esteem but don’t give them guidelines it is actually a form of cruelty because kids who don’t have a sense of what is right or wrong are sent out into a very scary world. Love without truth, much like truth without love, is a form of cruelty.

4)      It separates us from each other

In a society where no one agrees that anything is true we end up separated from one another. People need some higher thing to believe in to unify them as a society.

5)      It destroys faith

It reduces God from his right status as an absolute being to just a personal sentiment that can legitimately vary from one person to another.

People act as if God is different for each one of them; in reality people are creating their own personal deity according to their own taste much as you might craft a drink at Starbucks. This notion is incompatible with God as an absolute being. And so faith becomes irrelevant. If we’re just making it up then it doesn’t really matter.

But what about tolerance?

Some people will say ‘well, isn’t moral relativism what allows us to be tolerant’?

But in fact tolerance goes away in a morally relativistic world.

Mussolini, the Italian founding Fascist Dictator said:

“Everything I have said and done is these last years is relativism…from the fact that all ideologies are of equal value, that all ideologies are mere fictions, the modern relativist infers that everybody has the right to create for himself his own ideology…there is nothing more relativistic than fascism”.

Ah, such tolerance. So often presented as a virtue. And yet there is nothing more dangerous in our society. This is a huge deception and is taking millions of people to an eternity separated from God.

Jesus said:

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me".

 

Do you believe this? If this is true, there can be no other truth. God’s truth is revealed to us through his Word, the Bible.

 

Truth matters.

 

If it doesn’t, we might as well give up and go home now. Let’s fight for truth in a culture where truth holds little or no value at all.

Do you agree? Does this ring true to you? Let me know your thoughts.

This post is based on a seminar at HTB Leadership Conference 2012 by Patrick Lencioni