Facing The Truth


Brent Moody
 
It bothers me that people try to avoid the truth; for example, have you noticed that rude, disrespectful, and poorly trained children no longer exist in our society? “He is a good kid he just has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD),” or “he just has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).”

Instead of admitting that many children are not taught how to behave, society says they have a disorder.

Before everyone concludes that I am heartless let me say this: I understand that some children legitimately have ADD and other disorders. I am not denying that these disorders exist. however, I’m convinced that some people claim to have these disorders as an excuse for poor behavior. They are avoiding the truth. Just because we ignore the truth does not mean it ceases to exist.

Judah was a nation that avoided the truth. They listened to their false prophets who said, “peace, peace!” Jeremiah warned the people about the armies of the north, but they would not listen.

In Jeremiah 7 God directs Jeremiah to stand at the gate of the temple and say to Judah, “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these’.”

Judah did not understand that the condition of the temple had nothing to do with their spiritual condition. They rationalized that as long as the temple stood, God was pleased with them.

God reveals how he truly feels about Judah in Jeremiah 7:12-14: “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh…see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel…And now, because you have done all these works…I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.”

He did not approve of Judah at all, and He was ready to judge Judah the same way He had judged Shiloh.

Paul said in Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning…” After making a similar statement in 1 Cor. 10:11, Paul said in verse 12 “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

The Israelites thought they stood. They would not listen to the warnings God gave them, and ultimately they fell. We need learn from their mistakes so we can avoid the problems they faced.

Avoiding the truth never solves problems. You will never lose weight by making excuses for being heavy. Children will not learn to behave when they constantly hear, “he can’t help it, he has ADD” or “he has ADHD.” Judah did not help their circumstances by assuming that God was pleased with them simply because the temple had not been destroyed. Just because we do not see the truth sometimes, does not mean it fails to exist.

Judah realized the truth as they were being dragged into captivity. Judah could not avoid the truth as they witnessed God’s temple, the city walls, and the kings palace being destroyed. Sadly, it was too late. They were already doomed.

It is up to each one of us to put aside stubbornness and allow ourselves to see the truth. Sometimes the truth will hurt, and that is why so many people avoid it. But if we do not allow ourselves to see the truth, we will never make much needed changes.

It can become easy to justify our actions. Let’s get in the habit of honestly seeking the truth.