Is Truth Relative?

Is truth relative? Many people, in an attempt to be inclusive perhaps, conclude that what is true for you might not be true for me and the reverse. But, can something that is true actually be not true? Does truth depend upon the circumstances or conditions? Would something that is inherently true possibly be not true for another person? These are heady questions for sure, but worth thinking about. Similar offerings have appeared concerning things like evil. Again, on the surface, something evil, not something someone says is evil, but actual evil, can it be not evil? Or, is it evil only because of your own values and ideals? Is evil relative as well? Or better, is the concept of evil a human construct and as such has no real validity. Can what is evil for you be not evil for me? Is there no such thing as evil? And, yet another culprit has entered the fray. Some teach that pain is relative and as such can be minimized by perception or letting go or something else. Another promotes that the notion of pain exists only in your mind which you can control to not feel pain. Three propositions, three ideas, three doctrines, all deserving of further consideration.

Without getting wrapped up in semantics, it seems truth would have to be universal in order to earn the title, truth. To say something must be only true for you refers more to beliefs than truths. You may have a belief you feel strongly is true, yet another doesn’t think it is true at all. What a conundrum. What a mess. It seems the real limitation here is human logic. It also seems the deception here is the idea that there is no such thing as truth. Imagine living in a world governed only by what people thought. Picture no standard, no rules, no values, no right and wrong, no laws, nothing. Just a bunch of folks running around doing whatever they felt was okay. I shudder to think. The world would be in complete anarchy, infinitely more than is already happening. You think today’s politics of lies are bad, imagine a world with no truth. Truth is not relative, nor can it ever be relative.Again the likely culprit? Semantics. When people think of truth they think the opposite of lies. In other words, tell the truth, be truthful, be true. Yet truth, while wholly opposed to lies, is much more than that. Truth is what really is. Truth is the reality of every situation. Truth is perfect and unchanging. Now, lest you wrestle again with semantics, by truth I am not referring to your belief system. I mean the one thing that is true in every scenario. Truth is not synonymous with religion. Religion is what men say added to what they think is true, passed down from some other guys who thought it might be true. Truth enables us to see through religion. Truth comes from God directly. Truth has no foreign admixture. Truth is what God says is true even if you never believe it. Truth is not dependent on man, man is dependent on truth. When man gets the truth, he prospers. Absent the truth man withers. If you can get rid of truth, then you can get rid of God and you may already know whose goal that is. Do the math, truth cannot be relative.

Is evil relative? Is there really no such thing as evil unless you believe it. Is all of the terrible, insidious things that happen to people really just neutral, random, happenstance? Is it just how life is? It seems if God says something is evil, then it is going to hurt you. Alert. Semantic check! By evil I’m referring to what God says is evil, not simply what people believe. Years ago dancing was considered evil. You know, all of that gnarly touching. Alcohol was considered evil, including wine that God invented (Psalms 104:15). Evil is not what people say is evil. Evil is what God says is evil. And again, if God said something was evil (not your preacher) then someway somehow you can be assured it will not bring good into your life. It is going to steal from you. It will rob you of your vitality and life. It will make you sick and diseased and if successful, kill you. Harsh realities but true, as in not relative. God wants you to know what evil is so you can avoid it. Not knowing, or ignorance, will eventually get you. Saying that evil is relative and that every person can decide for themselves is absurd. Again complete anarchy. You can certainly justify some behavior or belief by reducing evil to the level of man’s perception, but you will still have to endure the pain. Pain, not because God is punishing you, but pain because God already told you what was truth. Free will to pursue it, but ouch in the ending. If you can get rid of evil, then you can get rid of the devil as well. Oh, he will still be right there making your life a mess, but you can choose not to acknowledge it I guess. Evil does exist and functions best the less you know about it. Bad stuff comes from somewhere folks and it doesn’t come from God. Living a few years alone would have already taught you that. Evil is bad and bad is evil, just as light is not darkness and darkness is not light. It has nothing to do with perception, but everything to do with what is true. Evil is not relative, but does lie.

Is pain relative? Ask a mother giving birth. Pain is something God skillfully built into our bodies to alert us that something is wrong. Mental pain – thinking. Physical pain – damage. When you have pain you are being called to do something about it. Pain is a powerful motivator. Imagine not having the ability to sense pain? Hand on the stove, fingers in the saw, foot stuck in the car door, you get it. The notion that pain can be dismissed begs two questions. One, why have pain and two, what about whatever the pain was pointing to? Or is that not real as well? You see, if you can remove these realities, then life becomes pointless. No boundaries, no control, no point. Pain, though never preferred, has a point. The point being to do something about it. The point being take action. The point being, get it resolved. If you can take away pain, then you can take away suffering. If you take away suffering, then you can take away evil. If you can take away the devil, we are back to square two. Pain is not relative and it does not lie.

Perhaps the greatest threat to our world right now are these egregious lies being promulgated as truth that remove the boundaries God put into place. Final semantics check, not people’s belief systems, but actual realities such as truth, evil and pain. The more blurred the line, the worse life gets for people. The truth shall set you free. Truth illuminates error. Truth is a standard you can bet your life on because you really are betting your life on it. I’m not talking about a fictionary hell, where evil has to stick around forever to run the place, I’m talking about living your life right now. Truth can fix a whole lot of things in a hurry. Error, referring to all the rest, never fixes anything, rather makes it worse. Similarly, people are so worried about our country right now, but what they really should be worried about is evil, unabashed, unashamed evil portraying itself to be good. Again, you do the math. If you can remove the boundaries then anything goes. A world or a country where anything goes is not going to be a safe place. Learn what is evil and avoid it or you will have pain, which does exist, is real and serves to alert you to something bad. Actual realities are not relative, nor are they dependent upon that which men say. Escape the delusion that threatens the world, by learning the truth. It’s there for you. It’s always been there.

Just some good thoughts…