Quest for the Truth

Absolute truths are eluding me.

I don't mean the truth that Yahweh created the universe or that Jesus of Nazareth died and rose again. I trust that those are truths. The truths that elude me are petty facts. Many times they are things that are construed in diametrically opposed directions by different people. Maybe some of the truths that I seek are simply unavailable to be found. Yet I continue the search; it's making me weary.

This political season brings out the worst in the truth-searching sport. McCain and Obama sit on stage at a debate. McCain claims Obama supported "Proposed Fact A". Obama responds by saying "That's just not true." McCain then responds, "It is true." And this happens in the opposite direction as well. How do we know who's telling the truth??? Most of us, I assume, believe the candidate that we are currently supporting. It's a he-said/he-said game. Some issues are verifiable. Did the candidate vote for or against an issue? That can be looked up in the voting records of the Senate.

Sometimes the candidates say the same thing...with completely opposite words and connotations. Obama says that our corporations pay relatively low taxes compared to other countries' corporations. McCain says our corporations are charged higher tax rates than almost any other country's corporations. At first look this looks like someone is lying. Look a bit deeper and they can both be true. The US REVENUE from corporate taxes is relatively low, yet the tax RATE is relatively high. This is an instance where the candidates frustrate us with seemingly different facts, but are both telling the truth.

Many of the claims both of the candidates make are difficult to verify. How is the common citizen supposed to check the validity of a claim that "My tax plan will be able to pay for all of these programs"? Even the candidates are using estimates. The common person is generally not interested in the specifics, but even if they are, it's nearly impossible to follow all of the numbers to a firm conclusion.

In this scenario voters are simply left to trusting candidates, campaign managers, or the media, all three of which have given us little reason to trust them. What we need are candidates, campaigns, and media members that are truly aspiring to tell the truth. Possibly most importantly we need media members who vigilantly report facts with disregard to the good or bad implications of those facts. Our society is over-saturated with "opinion-news" and editorials. Meanwhile we are left with a dearth of simple news reporting.

Until these three demographics (politicians, campaigns, media) show legitimate integrity, the American people will continue in their cynicism toward politics.

The Other Side

So I turned 21 today. I just wanted to report that life is exactly the same. No life-altering changes. I had expected a revolutionary change.

-Michael

Some Stuff I've Been Thinking About

I figure if I wait for some brilliant epiphany to post or if I get all preachy about something I read in my Bible, my input will be very sparse and hardly beneficial for anyone else. So don't get your hopes up for this post. Shed all expectations- these are just some things that have been on my mind.

Wisdom

The thing I've noticed about the people in my life that I would consider to be wise is that they don't say much, but listen intently. I think wise people understand the power of words, and understand that they need not say what is on their mind, because what is on their mind is most likely of no importance next to listening to and serving others. Think for a moment about how many Proverbs God gave us about what comes out our mouths. For example, Proverbs 12:23 says, "A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly." I couldn't count the number of times I've spoken up in small groups or classes or even general conversations just to hear myself blurt out some fact or insight that made me feel smart. All those times I proclaimed not my knowledge or understanding, but my folly and pride.

God's Wisdom Opposed to the World's Wisdom

Paul speaks of wisdom and folly repeatedly when he talks to the church at Corinth. We see that Paul held no stock in worldy wisdom as he writes "I... did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified..." Paul, who had the Scriptures memorized, who had met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, who basically founded the Church in Europe and Asia Minor, this Paul counted all these qualifications as nothing. The only thing worth knowing or talking about to him was the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ok... so I'm getting preachy (and a little bit off of my original topic), but seriously: what topic is really worthy of using words?

So Why Talk at All?

I'm sure all three of us have heard that St. Francis of Assisi quote, "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words." Of course I don't think we need to become missionary mimes, going about our day to day business with a pen and pad to communicate. But seriously- wouldn't words count so much more if they were associated with active love for others and God? If we backed up not 10% or 5% of our words with action but all of them, think of the value that our words would hold not only to ourselves but also to others. Here's how I want to use my words: Ideally, I'll be speaking about the grace Jesus Christ and His gospel, speaking the truth in love to my brothers and sisters both for encouragement and reproof. Next I'll have to say practical things once in a while, like, "Hi my name's David, what's yours?" or maybe I'll talk in a discussion about something like "What do you think about today's lecture on the South in the Colonial period?" The main issue is that I want my words to mean something, and I don't want to speak either the corrupting or foolish talk or the crude jokes Paul warns about in his letter to the Ephesians.

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I suppose I'm beginning to see how foolish I really am, and that I really know very little that is worth talking about. Maybe the wise aren't as awesome as we might think, but really they just enjoy quietly watching the rest of us make fools of ourselves.


Hope you guys have a great week,
David