I have spoke with the tongue of angels,
I have held the hand of a devil.
It was warm in the night.
I was cold as a stone.
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for… —U2
In 1987, four lads from Dublin, Ireland released their fifth album and what is considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time — The Joshua Tree. (By the way, that’s a subjective statement.) But the objective truth is, that album is one of the world’s best-selling albums of all time, selling more than 25 million copies. [1]
Three hit singles were on that album, With Or Without You, Where The Streets Have No Name, and, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.
According to Rolling Stone, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For is considered by music critics to be one of the greatest rock tracks of all time. [2] The song even made the Recording Industry Association of America’s list as one of the top 150 songs of the last century. [3]
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bono said that the song was “an anthem of doubt more than faith.” He went on to say that, “the music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God.”
The last two verses of the song speak very specifically of Bono’s faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross, but also looks forward to the ultimate fulfillment of everything Jesus did, when up there — the kingdom — finally comes down here.
In an article called, The Church of U2, Joshua Rothman described the song as “a potent American hymn” and “a song about searching for meaning or transcendence.” [4]
You could also come to the conclusion that the song is an anthem where Bono is crying out for truth — to be a person who is formed and shaped by truth.
Henry David Thoreau once wrote,
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
And, C.S. Lewis wrote,
“Thirst is made for water; [and] inquiry [or questions] made for truth.
Whether you realize or not, we all long for the truth. We crave it, or to use C.S. Lewis’s words,we “thirst” for it.
Why is truth so essential?
Because truth creates trust, and trust is jet fuel to any and every relationship. The absence of it, is the death knell of a marriage, friendship, business relationship, partnership, team, church or even country.
Truth matters.
Unfortunately, it seems that we’re caught in a cultural moment where the majority of people in our world are asking the same question Pilate asked 2,000 years ago: “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38)
Philosopher Francis Bacon described the interaction between Pilate and Jesus like this:
“‘What is truth?’ said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer.”
—Francis Bacon, Of Truth in Francis Bacon: A Selection of His Works, p 47
Sometimes we “haven’t found what [we’re] looking for” not because the answers aren’t there, but because we don’t like the answers we get.
But Elvis Presley nailed it when he said,
“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.”
—Elvis Presley
Are we living in a “Post-Truth” world?
I recently read that every year the Oxford English Dictionary, or the “OED” as people in dictionary biz like to call it, names its “Word of the Year”. It usually boils down to the word’s frequency of use during that year and how that word captured a particular moment in culture.
Five years ago — in 2016 — the OED’s “Word of the Year” was a combination of two words. The word was “Post-Truth” which they defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” [5] [6] The OED’s, Casper Grathwohl went on to write that “post-truth” could become “one of the defining words of our time”. [7]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, we’re living in a POST-TRUTH WORLD.
Isaiah 59:14 describes a period in history when people would reject justice, righteousness and truth. With searing accuracy and insight, Isaiah described a time when people would deny and dismiss any absolute or objective standard of truth. Deception and lies would become such a part of the political and religious establishment and landscape, that people would buy into and believe lies, walking right over and completely ignoring God’s truth.
“Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. 15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.” —Isaiah 59:14 NLT
Isaiah understood something critically important: ideas have consequences. Words have consequences. Lies have consequences. Wrong thinking ultimately leads to wrong living.
Wrong thinking leads to wrong living
In fact, The Passion Translation renders Isaiah 59:14 like this:
“…truth has stumbled in the public square and morality cannot enter.” —TPT
From politicians, to news media, to big tech, to entertainers, to religious leaders and pastors, “truth has stumbled in the streets. Honesty has taken a hit. Morality can’t enter.” The impact from this catastrophic loss is affecting everything — it’s wreaking havoc on our confidence, security, stability and sense of peace.
In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul makes an incredible statement. He writes: “God is not the author of confusion.” My question is, “If God is not the ‘author of confusion,’ who is?” One could easily infer or imply that the evil one or our own sinful self is.
If God is not the “author of confusion,” who is?
But one of the consequences of the truth war — and, make no mistake about it, we are living in the midst of a war on truth —is that the current truth war we’re in has created a sense of confusion about concepts, principles, basic facts of life and biology that aren’t really confusing at all.
Once again, Isaiah 5:20 contains a profound warning for this post-truth world, when He writes:
What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. —Isaiah 5:20 NLT
It’s critical that you understand that when I refer to a “truth war” or “war on truth” I’m not suggesting that people who disagree with me are an “enemy.” Not for a minute! In fact, I firmly believe the opposite. I believe you’ve never locked eyes with a person that doesn’t matter to the heart of God. Ever. Regardless of what they believe. So, in this “truth war” it’s important to make this clarifying statement:
We battle ideas, we don’t battle people.
We love people — relentlessly, tirelessly and unconditionally. But, we love them enough to courageously and compassionately battle ideas. Paul described it like this in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. —2 Cor 10:4-5 NLT
This is part of our mandate and mission as Christians. To “knockdown the strongholds of human reasoning” and to “destroy false arguments.” Or as another translation puts it, “…to take every thought captive” (ESV).
Why is this battle so important, you might ask? Because as the great reformed theologian, John Calvin, once wrote:
“Nothing is deemed more precious by God than truth.”
—John Calvin
So, in a world where “truth has stumbled” and in a world where truth is often attempted to be silenced, God’s people stand defiantly, courageously, yet compassionately and humbly, SHARING TRUTH, because we understand that it’s not just “the truth that sets you free.” That’s not everything Jesus said. Read Jesus’ entire statement. He said,
“…you will know the truth, and [it’s your knowledge of] the truth that will set you free [and keep you free].” —John 8:32 My Personal Paraphrase
That’s our motivation in this war on truth. Our goal is never to just win an argument. Our goal is to simply be faithful to God’s truth because we know the consequences of living a lie in a world dominated by lies.
Truth is firm, sure, reliable and stable
The Hebrew word for truth that gets used in Isaiah 59:14 is ‘ĕmeṯ and means, “firmness, faithfulness, sureness, reliability or stability.” The word implies something with everlasting, unchanging substance that you can always rely on. Something that you can put your weight on. Something that is capable of supporting and sustaining you.
The Greek word for truth that gets used in places like John 8:32 and 18:38 is alētheia and means, “what is true in any matter under consideration. It speaks of truth as reality or fact.” One source I came across said that the word literally means to “un-hide” or “hiding nothing” and conveys the idea that truth is always there. It’s open and available, if we’ll just acknowledge it.
The winds of culture are going to change. The tide of public opinion and conventional wisdom is completely unreliable. But truth lasts. Truth matters. Truth gives a firmness, sureness, reliability and confidence to your life that is essential when it comes to building a rock-solid faith that doesn’t bend, bow or break.
I’ll close this post with an important insight from 2 Thessalonians 2:10. Once again, Paul is writing and he indicates that one of the reasons people fail toflourish and actually invite destruction into their lives is because “…they refused to love and accept the truth…”
“He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.”
—2 Thessalonians 2:10 NLT
The Message renders the last phrase, that they actually “…hate the truth that could save them…”
Can you imagine that? Hating truth. Our hatred of it, doesn’t change it. But according to this passage, this is exactly what keeps some people not only stuck, but devasted and destroyed. They “hate” truth.
On the other hand, the implications are the exact opposite for those who “love the truth.” This group of people are not easily fooled and they actually experience restoration and re-creation as God rebuilds them from the inside out by the truth of His Word!
I’ll point out that I believe there’s a huge difference between knowing the truth and loving it. I long to be a man who knows the truth. That’s important. But I also want to be a man who loves the truth. That’s critical.
I also long for the church I lead to be a church that both knows and loves truth. Jeremiah described it like this:
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”
—Jeremiah 15:16 ESV
I want to be a man and I long for our congregation to be filled with people who live as if God’s truth — His Word — is “a joy and the delight of my heart.”
Why? Because to slightly paraphrase the words of Jesus in John 8:32, I firmly believe that it’s when we “know [and love] the truth, that the truth will set us free [and keep us free].”
In the next post I’ll share five thoughts about the nature of truth.
But today, take a few moments to consider the importance of truth in your personal life, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how you need to change your attitude or grow in your knowledge of and love for the truth. Determine that you will be a man or woman who “…loves and accepts the truth” (2 Thess 2:10).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joshua_Tree
[2] https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/u2-i-still-havent-found-what-im-looking-for-42848/
[3] http://www.theassociation.net/txt-music5.html
[4] https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/church-u2
[5] McAfee, Lauren Green . Not What You Think (p. 58). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[6] https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2016/
[7] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37995600