Former Vice President Al Gore wrote a book titled “An Inconvenient Truth.” The book’s theme was the urgent crisis of climate change. He urged the world to act on the inconvenient truth that we must take the difficult steps to correct our practices to save our world from a climate that is rapidly destroying our planet. We agree that often the truth is inconvenient. Convenient makes things easier or does not involve much effort or trouble. Is the truth you believe convenient or inconvenient?
We live in an environment of convenient truth. The news is often subtly adjusted to make it convenient for one’s particular bias. Is the pandemic a product of China’s sinister political agenda? Was the virus purposely seeded to show America its vulnerability? Are the protests of police brutality with merit, or with motives that are biased toward lawlessness? To most of us, it is futile to attempt to determine truth in the current news. Many members of our society are seeking for the truth, troubled by the obvious bias, and are suffering news burnout and fatigue. Therefore, we have an opportunity to share truth — satisfying truth anchored in Jesus and His word.
Pilate asked the question that has been repeating itself down through the centuries. He asked, What is Truth? Pilate was searching for a convenient answer. He was torn with the dilemma of what he knew truth to be and the biased truth of convenience. He knew the truth that for envy, the Jews had delivered Jesus. Pilate knew the truth that Jesus stood before him because of the political agenda of the Jews to destroy Jesus. He so badly wanted to please them. Yet he knew Jesus was innocent. He was torn by a convenient answer or an inconvenient truth. Could he rule in favor of Jesus, or could he please the Jews? This was an innocent man that deserved freedom. This was Pilate’s dilemma.
Fast forward two thousand years and the desire for convenient truth still permeates our society. We as a society have denied truth to the point where we no longer believe the truth that marriage is between man and women, that gender is established at conception and many other obvious truths. As Christians, we face a growing inconvenience in presenting the gospel. Will we stay true to our calling in an increasingly secular culture? The virgin birth, the divinity of Christ, and His resurrection are ludicrous to a secular society. Along with that is the doctrine of separation from the world and its system. Are we in truth the called out? We must not present a diluted truth of convenience.
Truth is evident and rational. We see design in the world around us. It is evident to the rational mind, and the rational mind concludes the world is a product of an infinite intelligence. We cannot deny the orderliness; we cannot deny the complexity and predictability. This tells us an intelligent God is the Creator of the complexity we see and compels us to ponder Him. Every individual conscience asks the question. How does this Creator God want me to live? We are accountable to our God, which is an inconvenient truth to our society. They want to find a convenient truth that renders us free from the restraints of morality. Evolution is the convenient answer. From mud to complexity and life, without God, but with thousands of years of random processes seems to satisfy the masses and frees them from the inconvenience of a God Who will judge according to His Word.
Truth does not change. Astronauts depend on unchangeable truth. Doctors depend on truth being truth. Farmers depend on truth. We depend on truth as long as it is science. As a society, we have denied the truth when it comes to the spiritual and moral. We deny that God even exists. Why? It is because we want the convenient truth that God does not exist and therefore frees us from moral restraints. We have an opportunity to present the truth to a world seeking truth. It has not changed for convenience, for the current drama, and will not change for the future. Morality does not change. Marriage is still between a man and a woman. The truth about child misbehavior and how it is corrected is still the truth.
Truth predicts. The unrest we see around us is predicted. As Christians, we must take courage, open the pages of scripture, and warn of the second coming and the judgment. It is an inconvenient truth to those who are determined in their unbelief, but a convenient truth to those who believe. Truth has already been declared in a book where every word is true. Thy word [is] true [from] the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments [endureth] forever (Psa 119:160).
Truth is complete. We can only discover more of the truth. Scientists can only uncover the truth; they cannot make more truth. The Bible declares that Jesus is the truth. He is the essence of truth and the culmination of truth.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2Th 2:9-12).
A convenient truth is sought by many to find an easier, more convenient way. Jesus said, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free! even though it is inconvenient.
Category: