Saturday 12th September
Read Jeremiah 7:27-29
“‘When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, “This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
29 ‘“Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.” (NIVUK)
We live in a time of truth decay. The damage is done in many and various ways – but the outcome is the same.
It may be that we water down the truth in the name of love. To maintain some things as true is hurtful to those who hold a different view – so we water down the truth to accommodate.
It may be that truth is diluted through no effort on our part at all. We may seek news and information only from biased sources, or even through social media feeds! It may be that artificial intelligence is producing ‘news’ through the agglomeration of internet articles and summarising it for us. We may not even know if it is in error – untrue.
It may be that we feel truth is not as important today as it was in the past. Our beliefs can be personal. The highest test is whether they bring us comfort, as long as they don’t affect anyone else. Seeking the truth of a matter is not of great consequence.
The erosion of truth in Jeremiah’s day was a sign of impending disaster. They sought messages of comfort against a confronting world. The loss of truth from their lips meant they could not hear a word Jeremiah was saying. Without discernment, they perished.
How much do we value truth today?
