TRUTH

Mt Eagle elementary Alexandria, VA 1953

When we were in the 4th grade in 1953 we ran relay races during recess. I could run faster than Buddy Huddle, (who was the tallest boy in our class.) For some reason, I believed that I could outrun anybody. I was fast.

That confidence stayed with me for years—until reality intervened.

It was the summer of 1960 or 1961 when I challenged my cousin Richard S. to a foot race and was sadly defeated. In that moment, reality sat in. I could no longer outrun the boys.

That childhood lesson raises a much larger question. If I could be so convinced of something that later proved untrue, how often do we deceive ourselves about other things?

So why have so many been deceived? Even some M.D.’s or Supreme Court Justices can no longer define male and female. Why are so many confused about so many things these days? At the heart of all this confusion is a deeper issue: how do we define “truth”?

The answer is simple, though not always easy. All we have to do is look to God. And how do we do that? By reading the Bible.

Of course, some object at this point. They look at the Old Testament and say we can no longer obey those laws because they are outdated. But have they read the New Testament? In the New Testament, God rescinded some of the laws by sending a vision to Peter (Acts 10:10–16). At the same time, Scripture is clear that the moral laws of the Old Testament remain the same, as explained in Romans 1.

This confusion about truth is not limited to theology. The media is guilty of slanting the news to align with preferred political beliefs. With AI and competing worldviews, how do you figure out who to believe? The answer remains the same: if it aligns with the Bible, it is true; if it contradicts the Bible, it is false.

And how do we know what the Bible says? We read it. We study it.

Some people believe they are doing good by fighting the government, a political party or attacking the media. But are they really doing good? It depends. How are they doing the fighting?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer took on the German government by starting a seminary and educating young men in what God has told us. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn confronted evil through speeches and writing. He said, “If I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible what was the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: ‘Men had forgotten God; that is why all this has happened.’”

His words serve as a warning. When we forget God, falsehood follows.

The truth is this: the Bible is true. We should read it. We should study it.

Looking back, that race with my cousin was a gift. It taught me that confidence alone does not determine reality. I believed I was the fastest—until the truth caught up with me. In much the same way, our culture can convince itself it is right, enlightened, or progressing, yet still be running in the wrong direction. Truth does not change to match our beliefs; we must change to align with the truth. Just as I could no longer outrun reality on that summer day, none of us can outrun God’s truth. The only wise choice is to stop, look to Him, and run the race according to His Word.

Revelation 22:11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”