Re-Visiting Self-Evident TRUTHS

TRUTH is a universal topic that we all seek to know and understand. Whether it's knowing the TRUTH or speaking the TRUTH or trying to apply TRUTH to our daily work and life.

My article today is somewhat of an exploration of why TRUTH has become so important to me that I would devote the last two and a half years to pursuing it. I may not be able to pinpoint an exact beginning or source, but I will try.

There were several different factors in the beginning. I was dealing with a health problem, my transition into retirement, challenges my kids were having, and perhaps the most impactful thing, the division I saw within the world. The media that I had always trusted to be truthful was also failing to report the truth and help people see perspective in their lives. Leadership, I observed, was failing to lead and unite people to address and solve their problems.

I know, this is a lot, but it helps to generalize my ‘state-of-mind’ and frustration over where my life had been and where it was headed. Have you ever been there? So many different things were happening and impacting my thoughts? It created a type of confusion and disorientation that kept me from concentrating on any one subject for long.

There was a book I was reading at the time – the name or author escapes me now. It was about our founding fathers and the challenges they were facing as they were trying to form a new country. One thought shared captured my attention. America’s premiere expression of enlightened thinking was that they were forming this nation based upon “a self-evident truth that all men were created by God as equal.”

This couldn’t be true.? All varieties of objective measures clearly demonstrate that we are not equal: some people are faster than others; some are stronger than others, some are more attractive, more artistic, better at making money, better at math, better at cooking or flower arranging and so on. The world is awash with?examples?that clearly demonstrate to even the most casual observer that inequality is a self-evident truth.

So how is it that America’s founding fathers thought otherwise?

The equality, I found, to which Jefferson and the other authors refer is spiritual, not material. They’re talking about metaphysical equality; equality that’s not based on physical attributes or social constructs. This metaphysical equality is the philosophical foundation of the Declaration to which America’s founding fathers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. They were not men of great intelligence, special knowledge or wisdom. They were farmers, tradesmen, lawyers, teachers, and doctors. What they all had in common was an incredible faith in God and His ability to intercede in their lives.

They observed, as a result, the evil within the world, that the colonies in which they lived were on the wrong path. It was a path that was denying life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They fully understood the ramifications of what they were doing by meeting and declaring their independence from something and someone they felt was moving them in the totally wrong direction.

So, how far will we go to stand up for what we believe to be true? Are we willing to pledge “our lives, fortunes, and sacred honors” for the sake of our nation? What is our spiritual connection, the very basis of what we believe and practice today? I began to question many things in my life and what I believed.

There are many causes today that are dividing a once united country based on strong ideology. Are calls for "Gay Pride", "Black Lives Matter", Green Energy, or Racial Equality any less self-evident truths today?

Can we be divided as a nation and still allow for opposing self-evident truths? Can we find common ground and areas in which to agree to disagree? I still believe that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their?Creator?with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are?Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" is true.

What then is my TRUTH? Why do I exist? Have you ever asked yourself this important question? If so, you may have been dealing with a moment of crisis, a time of self-reflection, or a moment when you were feeling insignificant in the world. I think everyone has asked this question, or one like it, sometime in their lives.

It starts with what I care the most about. My list is lengthy, but there are a few things that top it by far. My faith is number one, my belief in God, the sacrifice of His Son Jesus for me, and the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. I have had just too much evidence in my life to believe in anything else.

Next is my Family. Not just my immediate family, but a community of others who have supported me, prayed for me, helped me through difficult times, celebrated with me, and have been there for me when needed.

As I considered these things two things became clear. First, in searching for my TRUTH I found that this pursuit is difficult and that it involved many different concepts and ideas before I concluded that among all the different perspectives of the world today, there is only OneTRUTH, only One you can count on in all things. Second, there is a tremendous void of leadership in the world, a lack of how to use TRUTH to make better decisions and achieve great things.

Please do not misunderstand what I am about to write next. Our founding fathers used these self-evident TRUTHS to create a great nation. They asked the key questions, struggled with the realities of their experiences, and put everything on the line in declaring their independence and challenging what they saw as wrong. These self-evident TRUTHS, I have concluded, still apply today and can help us find ourselves in overcoming the evil we find in the world today.