“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.”  Psalm 86:11

“Jesus said, ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”  John 8:32

“Liar, liar, pants on fire …” is a chant I remember from childhood.  We have recently heard (perhaps too) much about lies and fake news, misinformation and disinformation, and fact-checking.  What’s true?  What’s not?

Who to trust is a dilemma as old as history.  “Eat this fruit and you will be wise.”  We tell lies to get by with stuff.  “The dog ate my homework.”  “I’m late because …”  We want to impress so we embellish our accomplishments or make them up entirely. We tell “white lies” because the truth might hurt.  We further entangle the web with cover-ups.   Untruth can be very blatant and hurtful when directed at someone or a group of people, making them appear unworthy or evil.

It is a challenging time when there are so many differing views in the news, the editorial pages, and on social media.  The recent political campaigns presented many situations to choose what is true or not.  Where can we put our faith and trust?  We are on a journey, called to travel a path that follows Jesus Christ.   If we keep our eyes on Jesus, and keep our ears open to his Word, we can trust him to guide us and discern what is the truth.

Dear God, be our vision and give us wisdom that we see what truth is.  Be in our hearts and give us courage to speak what is truth and defend those disparaged by reckless falsehoods.  Amen

Verla Olson

 

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