The truth we know
Enough, already.
Enough judging a man in his 50s for an isolated incident, or even several of them, that may or may not have happened when he was a teenager.
Enough judging a woman for daring to have a smile on her face at some point in time when the most important thing in her life is her allegations of being assaulted.
Enough giving credence to everyone who supports our own preconceived values and principles. Enough dismissing and/or excoriating everyone who opposes them.
Finally, and most importantly, enough obsessing over a man who may or may not get a job in which he may or may not have opportunity to weigh in with what may or may not be the deciding voice in what may or may not be an issue under his consideration in the future — an issue, by the way, which almost certainly has nothing to do with your actual life.
Here’s the truth: we don’t know what the truth is. We never will. And if the FBI, CIA, IRS, UN, SETI, and every other set of initials out there combined forces for a hundred years, they would not know what the truth is either. People lie. Memories fade. Evidence disappears. We do the best we can, and we move on. And sometimes “the best we can” means shrugging our shoulders and closing the book.
There is truth that we can know, though. Here is some of it:
Choices have consequences. Always.
The party you attend, the club you join, the friends you keep — these are all small pieces of the puzzle you are assembling that will become the picture of your own identity. This is especially true of choices made in your youth. Even if you “get away with” a bad decision, you become emboldened to make more and worse ones. And eventually it catches up to you. Fiery company leads to singed shirts — and souls (Proverbs 6:27).
Fairness is rare in a world dominated by the devil.
I continue to be flummoxed at my brethren who expect Satan’s followers to behave as though they were God’s followers. In fact, the “broad way” (Matthew 7:13) may lead to the cliff’s edge, but before then there are very few “yield” signs. People do what they want in pursuit of their own agenda. And when that agenda runs afoul of someone else’s agenda, that someone else gets run over. No hesitation, no apologies.
The availability of legal abortions is not the most important issue facing us today.
If I believed in both original sin (which I don’t) as well as the humanity of the unborn (which I do), it might be different. The thought of millions of souls destined for hell before they took a breath is unspeakably terrifying. And I’m certainly not minimizing the horror we see in our world today or the implications it has for our culture as a whole. But abortion is the effect in this story, not the cause. The most important issue facing us today — the actual cause that should occupy our attention — is the degree to which God and the things of God are being dismissed, denied or lampooned. Godlessness begets ungodliness. Read Romans 1:18-32 for Paul’s inspired commentary on the subject. I am as opposed to abortion as anyone else, but banning legal abortions from our society will not fix our real problem; it will not even address it.
Government is not your savior.
If you think a particular vote, law or appointment will set back the cause of Satan in this world, you need to read your Bible more carefully. The phrase “deliver us from evil” in Matthew 6:13 is addressed to God, not any human or group of humans. Praying and (in a system such as ours) voting for righteousness is fine and good. But we should be content to pray simply that government not actively persecute us (1 Timothy 2:1-2) — and even more importantly, for the strength to endure when and if it does (1 Peter 4:12-14).
Lying is wrong. Always.
Everyone has a cause they consider to be more important than the truth. That is why telling the truth must be absolute — and that’s God’s truth, by the way (John 17:17), not “my truth.” When left to the individual, “truth” ceases to exist.. There is a reason “all liars” are excluded from heavenly glory (Revelation 20:8).