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What To Do With Truth
Jun 4, 06:36 PM
“Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure and oppress all your workers.”
~Isaiah 58:3
Knowing the truth is one thing, what you do with that truth is something else. It is not enough just to know truth. You must also know how, when, and where to apply it. Simply knowing the truth has gotten the church in a lot of trouble through the years. For instance, in the North American church, especially the evangelical church, knowing the truth has been the focus of its entire ministry. All you have to do is get the faith right. Confess Jesus Christ, believe the creed, ascribe to the doctrinal statements and you are in. The emphasis of ministry has been to convert people to a way of believing. What this has led to is that in many cases it doesn’t matter as much what you do or how you live as long as you believe correctly. People can attend church on Sunday willingly affirm the church’s stance on everything and then live like the Devil the rest of the week. For instance, we can oppress our workers while we are in the midst of the spiritual discipline of fasting.
People in the world care little about what we believe. They have heard quite enough of our doctrine. They want to see what we do. To them, how we act is our reality. Talk is cheap. What goes on behind the closed doors of our churches is of little relevance to them. They want to see us put our money where our mouth is and get out and do something about the things that plague society. Like Thomas, who refused to believe until he saw the wounds on the hands and side of Jesus, the world wants to see us be willing to be wounded for love’s sake. We will only begin to reach this generation when we begin to be passionate about the things that are on their minds: AIDS, poverty, materialism, and the environment. This is not to reduce the church to a mere social organization. We are not here simply to mend society. We are here to proclaim the Kingdom of God by word and by deed. Right now, it is our deeds that matter most. Christianity is at its core both a matter of personal inward disposition and outward action and behavior. Belief in the truth is part of that equation but only part of it. The other part is our obligation to society as a whole and especially the poor.
Knowing the truth is not enough. What you do with the truth you know is what matters. For instance, it might be true that homosexuality is a sin. You may know that as a fact. Now – what you are going to do with that knowledge? Are you going to use is as fodder in a crusade against homosexuals? Will you use that knowledge as a weapon? What will you do with it? Truth does not exist in a vacuum. Truth is applied. It has intended purposes. The One who gives truth also has a strategy for its implementation. Truth does not stand alone. It exists within the framework of the purpose for which it is given. “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) We are dependent on God as the source of truth; we are also dependent on God to discern how, when, where, and in what matter that truth is applied.