The Truth Hurts

by Pastor Tom

“But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me?” -John 8:45-47

According to some pretty reliable polls, only about ten percent of Americans think political candidates regularly tell the truth. That means ninety percent feel that they just say what voters want to hear. Why is that? Well, politicians lie because voters tend to demand lies rather than the truth.

We live in a pretty deceptive society. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that odometers get rolled back an average of 30,000 miles on about three millions vehicles a year, cheating consumers out of around $1,000 a car. One or every eight restaurant checks is computed incorrectly, the majority of which add up to overcharges. Ten thousand people in the United States are suspected of practicing medicine with a bogus medical degree. Many doctors with valid credentials, when polled, admit to cheating on medical exams. That really official looking manila envelope you received not long ago in the mail that you felt compelled to open because it must have certainly contained some important governmental information ended up containing some half-witted sales scheme from a local car dealer. But you weren’t surprised.

We’ve come to expect as much from car companies. Remember that fine Corinthian leather Ricardo Montalban told us about? Not really from Corinth. It was just a label dreamed up by the Chrysler marketing department.

Then, there are those little lies we hear and tell every day; “I’ll just be a minute.” – “Let’s get together for lunch. I’ll give you a call.” – “Everything’s fixed.” – “I’ll get this book back to you as soon as I’ve finished reading it.” – “The check is in the mail.” – “The doctor will be with you shortly.” – “This will only hurt a little.” – “There’s absolutely no obligation.” – “And if elected, I will…….”

The next time we gripe about our politicians and their inability to be truthful, we should think again. They’re just doing what we’ve asked them to do. We don’t respond well to the truth and rarely want to hear it. We don’t want some politician telling us that the biggest problem with America is directly connected to our shabby, shoddy, apathetic lifestyle. We would rather make believe that they can fix everything for us and we can just all stay as we are.

Jesus got himself into some real trouble, not because he made promises he couldn’t keep or metered his comments according to the polls. He got into trouble because he told the truth. He challenged our false assumptions. He told us plainly to get our lives in order. It didn’t go over well, and it still doesn’t. Sinful human beings are quite comfortable in a world of untruths.
If you want real change, then look to Christ. He is the way, and the truth, and the life.

Sometimes, the truth hurts, but the truth leads to real change and to healing.