The Value of Truth: The Devastating Consequences of No Absolutes

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Any relationship of any type at all is of no value whatsoever if it in fact it is not based on truth.

Think about this for just a second. You ask someone, “will you feed my dog for me while I’m on vacation?” and they say yes. But they never feed your dog and your dog dies. Someone who is color blind asks you, “is that red or green? You respond, “it is red”, when you know it is green. Think of the implications at Stop Light intersections alone.  A judge asks a witness in a capital murder case, “is this the man you saw shooting the victim?” and you lie.

Or this: “Do you love me?”, and you answer (or are answered…) untruthfully.

Without truth, EVERYTHING fails. Every legal, moral and ethical standard is gone. Correction and punishment have no value, and even become unreasonable brutality. Every social norm, every acceptable moral standard – gone. Consider the thoughts of people making it a habit to lie while giving testimony in court, to lie in contracts, to lie about their qualifications when applying for a job, and the consequences that these actions would have. When lies become the accepted commonplace over truth, everything that is good ceases to function. Nothing can be trusted. Nothing has value unless there is absolute truth.

In today’s world of post-modern thinking, or when dealing with atheists, evolutionists, and proponents of situational ethics or provisional morality where right and wrong are dependent on circumstances or opinions that are in a constant flux, this argument becomes very apropos. It is a simple argument to show that unless one is a proponent of anarchy, than there must be absolute truth. Without it, we are left to our own devices, our own ‘feelings’ to determine what is right or wrong. A position that is ultimately untenable. As an example, an evolutionist relies on absolutisms; absolute truths are what determine evolution. This evolutionary trait is absolutely better than the previous one, which is why this trait continues, and others fall away and are lost in the evolutionary cycle. To the atheist, if he denies absolute truth, than why is it not OK for the person who disagrees with the atheist to just reach out and kill the atheist? I mean after all, there is no moral standard, no absolute truth in atheism as there is no deity to determine right from wrong, and we all decide on our own. So, the non-atheist kills the atheist, and this must be OK in the mind of the (now dead) atheist.  Right? Geeseh….

As you can see, truth is everything. Without truth there is no foundation, and no future. That being the case it begs the inevitable question once asked by Pontius Pilate, what is truth? Scripture gives us the answer. Jesus. Jesus is the Truth.

God’s Word is the truth. It is the absolute standard by which we all must live. It is the moral, social, ethical, spiritual truth. We do not get to determine right from wrong, God has already determined that for us. If we ever have a question as to what might appear to be a gray area, err on the side of Grace and on the standard that we are to esteem all others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).

The value of truth cannot be understated, because the value of truth is the value of Christ. Without Christ, there is no truth, there is no right path to salvation. In the same sentence where Jesus declares Himself the Truth, He also declares that He is The Way, and the Life. There are all symbiotically tied together. Without truth we are without hope. With truth, our future is secure in Christ. Let us rely solely on Him and that truth. Its value is priceless.  

So, is your relationship with Jesus based on Truth? Not truth as you see it, but truth as He sees it. If not, there is no value in that relationship. For your relationship to be based on truth, you must not only say that you love Jesus, but you must live your entire life like you do, allowing your actions to prove your love for Him. If your life does not say to everyone who watches that you love Jesus, is your relationship really based on truth? Without the proof of your love for Jesus in your every day living, is there any proof at all? Don't tell someone who lived and died for you because of the love that He has for you, that you do love Him, and live your life like you don't.  

There is everlasting value in truth. There is nothing of value in a lie.