TRUTH

 You know that saying, "...'tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes"? It was first mentioned by the character Toby Guzzle, in Christopher Bullock's 1716 novel, The Cobbler of Preston. Benjamin Franklin was the one who popularized the phrase, though, in a 1789 letter to Jean Baptiste Le Roy: "...but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes". 

Nothing can said to be certain except death and taxes? Isn't it sad that 'truth' isn't mentioned as a certainty? Certainty is truth, but truth isn't a certainty.

What is truth? The internet definition of truth is: Conformity to fact or actuality.

1. "Does this story have any truth?"
2. Reality; actuality.
   "In truth, he was not qualified for the job."
3. The reality of a situation.
   "The truth is, she respects your work"
4. So truth is what really is or what really happened.
6. As a Christian, I can add - with certainty - a third tense: what will happen; Biblical Prophesy. That is a critical thing, and riveting to any serious Christian's heart, but it is not the core of what I am focusing on here.
7. Truth is to lies what light is to darkness. Everything becomes clear with truth or light, but is concealed by lies or darkness.
8. Why is it that truth today seems to be so unimportant? The guilty are never guilty. They just "experienced it differently". In days so gone by, news reporters used to be all about the truth. Then they became all about the story. Now they are all about whatever populist agenda it is they are blathering on about, with a cult member's adherence, and dreamy, soul-selling dedication that just makes your eyes roll back in your head. They don't ask their interviewee what the truth is: they tell him or her what the truth is. Their truth.
9. Yeah, "their truth". That has become such a common catch phrase. Not the truth; their truth. That allows the bending of reality into sometimes completely unrecognizable forms by the teller. When some 6 foot 1, 220 pound dude is standing there in a dress and domineeringly and threateningly telling you in his deep voice that he is a woman and you must treat him as such, that may be his truth, but it is far from the truth. Delusion is not truth. Even diluted delusion is not truth. And forced delusion is definitely not the truth.
10. Modern society so often references "white lies", "near truth", "half truths", and the big, latest biggest one yet: "my truth". There is only the truth. Then everything else which isn't. Anything else falls way, far short. 
11. There is an innate desire for truth in every one of us. When two little children are standing in front of their parents, in a bawling, squalling argument about who broke the vase, both know the truth. One wants the truth, and the other wants to escape the truth. That is because the Tweedledee and Tweedledum twin to Truth is Justice. The one sibling wants justice, and the other wants to escape justice, because justice has reward for the innocent, and punishment for the guilty. At least it should, even if it is only a slap on the wrist for the guilty and a clearing of their name for the innocent. We all want to escape Hell and put the blame on the Devil. But, because Satan is the father of all lies, he will never accept our blame, and therefore we otherwise would inescapably have to go to Hell for our sins, but Jesus gladly accepted the weight and punishment for our sins on the cross so we could escape ultimate justice. That is just an incredible thing. 
12. It hardly matters what I write about, because of the heart God put in me, it will almost inevitably come back around to Him. I value truth, and God is Truth. We are made in God's image, and therefore truth is an inherent part of us. People that run from truth are running from God Himself. 
13. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
14. John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
15. Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
16. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
17. That last verse shows truth in the future tense; Prophecy. 
18. If every witness in a court trial lies; fails to tell the truth, how will justice ever be served? No one guilty will ever escape God's justice in His court, That is impossible because He sees all truth, but so many will try to escape the justice of man's court. 
19. Truth adds up: one plus one equals two; one plus two equals three; two plus two equals four. Those are absolutes. There is absolute truth or there is not, period. One plus one does not equal three, whether that's "your truth" or not. If you take concrete blocks, and line and stack them straight in a uniform manner with good mortar between them, you will end up with a solid concrete wall, not a giraffe. Once you bend truth - which is Reality - a little bit, you might as well bend it a lot. 
20. The absence of truth leads to the presence of all kinds of undesirable qualities. If you can't be honest, you probably can't keep your hands to yourself, either. Substance abuse, theft, embezzlement, and martial infidelity can easily follow in the path of lies, because they all require covering up. The nucleus of any cover up is always a lie. Once the pattern of lying to conceal one's objectionable behaviour becomes ingrained, it can go to verbal and even physical assault, and then all the way to murder once the habit of covering up wrongdoings and crimes becomes a way of life. I'm not saying that those last terrible things naturally follow habitually abandoning the truth, but they are extremely unlikely to be present with a love of truth.
21. There's an old saying, 'The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie'. It sure is. Truth carries no burden. Truth bears no guilt. Truth never holds you captive. 
22. I have seen people who habitually lie, but they have a unique problem that comes only with lying: They can't remember all the lies they tell, so they wind up contradicting - and therefore exposing themselves - in later conversations. In sometimes humiliating fashion at that. Truth never sets its own snare.

23. 

     One lie begets another. Don't let dishonesty creep into your life. It will only grow and end up holding you hostage and slave to it.  

24. 
    
    Many people do not understand how dangerous lies are not just to the receivers, but to the tellers themselves. They can end up holding their host in a crippling chokehold for the rest of their life. Or even shorten it. All it takes for the erosion of someone's life is one. Every habit starts with the first hit. Remember that. 

25. 

26. I hate lies. I positively despise them. Why? Because they destroy relationships. They destroy friendships. They destroy marriages. And lastly because they are the virtual wrecking ball to the wall of justice.

You cannot have justice unless the truth is exposed. A lie is cancer to the body of justice; it will grow and fester and eventually take over the body and bring it to death's door to eagerly and wickedly deliver it over. Only truth can save it at that point. If truth does not present itself, only a fake justice will, not true justice. We simply cannot have justice without truth. Anyone truthful with themselves knows that. Everything good crumbles without truth. Trust and Fidelity are the constant companions of Truth.

Lies are a distinct sign that the person telling them doesn't respect you. At that point you have a very legitimate, two-fold reason to back away from that person. 

When there is a habitual liar in your life, you know you can't fix them. You just sadly listen to their tales and know that they are not only hurting others, but they are ultimately hurting themselves. Some people are just never guilty of anything. But they are only fooling themselves. Other people may pass through their web of lies, but they themselves will always remain at the center of them. Because you know they aren't truthful, you don't trust them. You know you must take a step back from them to avoid being drawn into their tangled web. It's a much sadder thing for them than for you, because they are just defeating themselves. If the day ever comes where they are in serious trouble, and you don't know the truth of the matter, you will not risk vouching for them because you know their story quite likely isn't factual, and they could drag you down with them with only thought for themselves. You sadly and reluctantly have to push them out on their figurative ice flow to whatever fate may befall them. If they were reliably truthful, you would get up on the witness stand and say that, even though you weren't there, you know their character, and it is one of truth, so if they said they didn't do it, you are certain in your mind they truly didn't do it. You wouldn't put yourself out there like that for someone who lies, because, outside of first hand witnessing the event, you have no way of knowing they're not actually guilty. That is why the development of Character is so important. Some day your very life and freedom may rely on it. Truthfulness is the substance of Character.

I watch a lot of police videos on Youtube. The way criminals will lie to try to get out of what is rightfully coming to them just makes me shake my head. They will deny stealing or having drugs on them or doing a hit and run and the officer will say, "I saw you do it!", or, "It's on store video!" I couldn't be a police officer or a judge or a lawyer. The lack of truth in their realm would make me want to jump off a bridge. I just couldn't deal with it on a daily basis. I don't think I should have to find the truth. I think truth should be self-evident. Alas, it certainly isn't. That last sentence shows Truth and Certainty are not mutually inclusive these days. And how naive I happen to be. 

On a side note, naivety isn't necessarily a bad thing. That is definitely how it is touted in the world today, but it is actually virtuous at its heart. Naivety simply shows a character that is intrinsically truthful and therefore expects truthfulness to be present in others. The real character flaw isn't in the naive person, it is in the one that deceives them for their honesty and expectation of honesty in everyone else. Don't descend your ridicule and derision on the naive person; reserve it for the ones that abuse their natural integrity! 

That naive person may be the only one who will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on the witness stand. Hold them in high esteem.

Way to the other end of the spectrum we have this:

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

That is a scathing admonishment for sure. It is actually more a judgement than an admonishment. It clearly shows the moral putrefaction that lies can produce all the way to murder. We postulated upon that earlier, and there it is. That verse also very accurately describes a lot of people in high places today. It is very telling when you pause to examine it a little closer.

So God is the Spirit of Truth, and Satan is the spirit of lies. Be very careful what spirit you are allowing to take up residence in you!

The public imitates what public figures do. When they see politicians stand in front of a microphone and unapologetically say they are completely innocent of a scandal when the polar opposite is readily apparent, they are tempted to do the same. The crooked politicians appoint equally crooked committees to "investigate" them, and, surprise, surprise: are found innocent of all charges. While they all get even richer from the experience. No justice is served. What does the less-morally oriented segment of society learn from that? Crime pays. And doesn't have consequences. You see society crumble from the top down. Laws are passed where things that are against nature are made legal. They are even paid for by the taxpayers who very well may be diametrically opposed to them. And the moral decay accelerates. When truth is attacked, justice is dragged into the mugging. Neither escapes unscathed. 

Romans 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Oh, that is dangerous! There is no telling the danger and the punishment that goes with that mentality. Please, don't ever be that person! 

Truth is critical, inescapable, and absolutely tantamount in the development of Character and the search for Justice. Truth is the very keystone in the arch of Justice. Without it everything else collapses into a heap of rubble. Be that Keystone of Truth for everyone around you to rely on and aspire to.