Recently, I was enjoying coffee with a friend. We were discussing the importance of truth and what embracing it means as we navigate the waters of life. Sadly, society and culture seems less and less to be on speaking terms with the idea of absolute truth. Billy Joel was on to something when he stated so melodically that “everyone is so untrue” (that song will probably be stuck in your head for the rest of the day - sorry). Some are blatantly untrue - just not truthful at all… and totally OK with it. I don’t really have much time for those types. Far more dangerous to me, however, is that so many have decided to invent their own truth. Blatant untruth is so much less malignant than the idea that we can make our own truth. You hear it all the time, though. “She told her truth.” “He told his truth.” Maybe we should just stick to the truth. The idea that truth is different for each of us based upon the way in which it serves us is disturbing to me. It’s indicative of a world that is becoming increasingly averse to absolutes. And then we wonder why anxiety and depression and the unhealthy ways in which we try deal with the angst we feel are all tearing us apart.

Truth is like an anchor. When a ship weighs anchor it ceases to be moved by the force of the sea around it. Anchors make us stationary and stable. So it stands to reason that in exterminating absolute truth from life, we subject ourselves to the mercy of the seas. And tumultuous seas they are. It’s really that simple. When we refuse to do the bidding of the anchor, we are forced to do the bidding of the sea.

I’m not sure why truth has become such an enemy to so many. Maybe it’s because sometimes it’s hard to face. Maybe it hurts a little too much at times to acknowledge what is true, so we turn to the lies that seem easier to believe. And I think that maybe it is a little too easy for us to portray ourselves as something we are not. And it is equally as convenient to accept the false portrayals of others. Our tech-saturated culture has created utopian, non-real digital contexts to which we are constantly connected, allowing us to maintain illusions about ourselves in a destructive quest to keep step with the unreal illusion that someone else has posted. But somehow that’s easier or better than just tethering ourselves to the truth? I think not.

The truth is that I am what I am, and the world is as it is. God loves me, and has invited me into the kind of anchoring relationship with Him that gives me unexplainable peace in the storm of life, and the kind of joy producing purpose that I desire inherently. In Him I have my identity. I play to an audience of One which frees me to enjoy the simple pleasure that obedience and faithfulness to Him brings. And here’s the critical part. God is truth. He doesn’t change. He’s steady. He’s strong enough to hold my ship in place even in the angriest of seas. In that there is great comfort. I am content, happy, and blessed to be doing the bidding of the Anchor and not the bidding of the sea.

Father, thanks for holding me steady in the storm. Thanks for the truth that you are. May it continue to shape me into the Me of My Dreams……