Why Pursue TRUTH!

I start this issue with the understatement of the year…TRUTH is elusive and difficult to find. For some, something can only be true or false if it is open to verification, at least in theory if not also in practice. The TRUTH of something lies at the end of our inquiry into that thing. But as our inquiry can have no end, the truth of something can never be more than our best opinion of that thing. If best opinion is all that we can have or hope for, then best opinion is as good as TRUTH, and TRUTH is a redundant concept.?What then is TRUTH and why do we pursue it?

We read in the Bible in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 about people who will not listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow, instead, their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.?They will reject the TRUTH and chase after myths.

If nothing is true, who and what do we believe? TRUTH and the pursuit of TRUTH are important for at least three reasons. First, false statements if they are believed and acted upon, will yield contradictory and absurd results. If it is believed, for example, that economic scarcity does not exist and act upon this belief, we also know that this is not possible, and we will eventually fail.

Second, one who does not pursue the TRUTH will end up lying each time he can benefit from it and will be trusted only by the gullible. TRUTH is the very foundation of trust, and trust is the foundation of society.

Third, a generalized disregard for TRUTH undermines the minimum social capital of trust necessary for prosperity and liberty. Without TRUTH and trust there is no foundation for conducting business.

We are already seeing the results of this prophecy, as the media and political leaders spin their own forms of reality that people actually believe. Those pursuing certain agendas tend to listen to the voices that support their causes and resist other points of view.?They believe what they want to believe and reject others. They are no longer open minded and willing to debate different perspectives because they fear the TRUTH.

The most concerning part of this prophecy is, I believe, that of following their own desires. In doing so, they ignore the needs of others, the foundation of society that holds us together as a people. This is the one area, however, in which hope remains; we still are a caring and generous society. Real emotional reactions are still produced by truly needy or oppressed people. Evil in the world has not yet been able to overcome the human response of caring for others beyond ourselves.

Hope is about positive beliefs when we have a clear goal in mind. It’s about a belief that we can overcome challenges, adversity, and hostility. Hope is the one true ally of TRUTH.