Over ten years ago Os Guinness wrote a little book called 'Time for Truth; Living free in a world of lies, hype and spin.' This is how his book concludes; 'The West (and its lead society) are at a crossroads. In a world of lies, hype and spin, there is an urgent need for people of truth at all levels of society. There is quite simply no other way to live free. The choice is ours. So also will be the consequences.'
What choices has western society made in the intervening decade? We have seen the credibility of various institutions crumble largely because of a failure of truth. Governments, banks, churches and now the press have all been found wanting when it comes to acknowleding the truth. And we as a society have been reaping the consequences - led into a dubious war, sold a financial disaster, unwittingly protected corrupt priests and allowed journalists to do anything in pursuit of the celebrity tittle tattle we apparently can't get enough of.
Do we need any more evidence of the reality that truth itself has been consistently devalued in the western world? Instead of being valued for its own sake truth has been seen as a means to an end. If the truth will get my policies through parliament, secure my investments, keep people in my pews or sell my papers then it is of use to me. If it won't then it's not.
Furthermore, if a lie or a hype or a deception or an illegal act will get me further towards my goal than the truth will, then I will choose that instead. After all in a world where truth has lost its meaning, who cares about right and wrong? Who even knows what they mean any more?
Two thousand years ago, a politician in a small outpost of the Roman Empire with a few corrupt institutions of its own asked a cynical but profound question; 'What is truth?' What he did not know was that the man standing in front of him, bruised and battered and rejected by his own society was the very embodiment of truth. As has always been the case our relationship with the truth and our relationship with him are inextricably linked. We cannot claim to be in him and continue to give tacit acceptance to a world governed by lies, hype and spin.
So what will we do? There is only so much that direct action and protest can achieve. Lobbying the powerful is sometimes useful but in itself it carries the danger of giving into this same world of untruthfulness (the truth that serves my lobby group's aim is good but the truth which contradicts it is bad).
Surely the thing to do is to re-commit ourselves to being people of truth. We will often be inconsistent in this but when we are and our inconsistencies are pointed out we will recognise them, deal with them and thank the person who brought us up short. Even King David was eventually grateful for the ministry of Nathan the prophet because Nathan's message allowed David to become more of a man after God's own heart.
If we are going to be people of truth, the first thing we will do is recognise that everyone including ourselves is guilty. Politicians, bankers, journalists, clergy, celebrities, sports stars, business people all have the potential to lie and spin because we are all sinful. Orange and green, black and white, Tory and Labour, Christian, Jew, Muslim and atheist - we all stand condemned for not living lives of complete honesty, trustworthiness and faithfulness.
The second thing we will do is share the truth that has made a difference to us - the truth that every sinner finds grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. This is the truth. And this truth will set us free.
