Speaking The Truth

Four high school boys decided to skip the morning classes. After lunch they showed up at school and reported to the teacher that their car had a flat tire. Much to their relief, the teacher smiled and said, “Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper.” Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions. Then she said, “First question- which tire was flat?”

Truth is becoming an increasingly rare commodity in our world. Former US President Barack Obama in a speech in July 2018 celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday, took the opportunity to warn against a dire trajectory in world politics. The very idea of truth is being thrown out the window, and in its place, raw power is taking over. Obama identifies various factors. “Censorship and state control of media is on the rise.” Social media has become a tool for “promoting hatred and paranoia and propaganda and conspiracy theories”. People are not interested in reasoned debates; we simply “surround ourselves with opinions that validate what we already believe.” And because of this, nobody is calling politicians to account for their lies. Politicians have always lied, but it used to be if you caught them lying, they’d be like, “Oh, man.” Now they just keep on lying. (Barack Obama, “Obama’s South Africa speech, annotated”, The Washington Post (ed. Eugene Scott, 17 July 2018).

We don't lie any more, rather we just shade the facts. Here are some examples of how people try to shade the facts to their advantage in the court: "The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him." "The telephone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end." "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him." These "excuses" may bring a smile, and some were probably meant to. But they also remind us of how prone we are to shade the facts, especially when it works to our advantage.

The book of Proverbs tells us "lying lips are an abomination to the Lord" (12:22). Too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they’re caught in a lie, and they just double down, and they lie some more.

Our businesses are built on systems that hide the truth. Have you seen those fine prints? Those are the hurting and painful truths in your agreements that nobody can read. They hide the truth to win the businesses. Our insurance companies are well known for hiding the truth. We got some surprise bills from the hospital. When called, the hospital says we owe it. We called the insurance company, they said, the hospital sent them duplicate bills and they denied it. We are caught in the middle.

Commercials on TV are just plainly lying when they claim that they can make a seventy year old look like a 17 year old. Or, the best in class product or service. So we try our best to get away with answers that shade the facts. People are trying to beat the system in anyway possible.

During the Covid pandemic, the government issued loans to support businesses like PPP Loans. Now, many are getting caught and sent to jail for receiving the aid supported by fraudulent documents. Unfortunately, there are many churches and pastors involved. People lie to get immediate returns and then realize that it was wrong. It happens during the tax seasons every year. A hilarious letter received by IRS reads like this: "Enclosed you will find a check for $150. I cheated on my income tax return last year and have not been able to sleep ever since. If I still have trouble sleeping I will send you the rest. Sincerely, A Tax Payer.". A lot of people have this cloud of guilt hanging over their heads due to lying.

Deception is so often part of the air we breathe. Our systems are built on the premise that truth can be stretched and worked around. It’s like the story about the man who was applying for life insurance online. There were a number of questions that asked him, "How old is your mother?" He said, "She’s dead." "How old was she when she died?" "She was 41." "What did she die of?" "Cancer." "How old is your father?""He’s dead too.""How old was he when he died?""Forty-three.""What did he die of?""Heart attack."Immediately, the system rejected him saying, "You’re a terrible risk! There’s no way you can get this insurance!" So the man decided to go to another insurance company. And the computer asked him the same questions. "How old is your father?""He’s dead." "How old was he when he died?""Ninety-four.""What did he die of?""He fell off a horse, playing polo.""How old is your mother?""She’s dead too.""How old was she when she died?""Ninety-one.""What did she die of?""CHILDBIRTH." This imaginary story says that he got approved