In exploring the concept of truth and its function in our lives, I suppose we would do well to begin by defining it. Primarily, I understand truth to be a person and not just a concept. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life…” In saying this, He laid claim to three identities, but we’ll focus on Truth in this case. 

Does Jesus’ embodiment of Truth conflict with truth as a concept? Not really. What Jesus says or does automatically is truth as a concept because He is the author of all things and all the things He does or says will therefore be coming from a place of authenticity and truth as created by Him. 

What He Says Goes

Also, as author and Lord of all, what He says goes, so that means He is always speaking and acting in truth as a concept in that sense as well. Does this mean truth as a concept is transient? Not at all. Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. With this type of consistency we have been able to discover truth as a concept we can rely on completely—even if we are not believers. But ultimately Truth is a person we can rely on completely—and without Him we would never develop our full potential in truth absorption. 

So, whether in the case of Truth as a person or truth as a concept, we see an illustration of firmness and consistency developing. It or He is something or Someone we should feel comfortable relying on as an anchor in our lives. And we should feel comfortable leading others to do the same—which brings us to the point. 

Using Truth As A Verbal Club

There are many times people use truth concepts as a club to beat people over the head with. Usually this entails chipping off fragments of reality in pieces small enough to hold in our hands and wield as a weapon—metaphorically speaking, of course. The problem in doing so is we’ve disjointed a piece of truth from its rightful place and context and then used it for malicious purposes. This is not helpful. Most people are not going to want to anchor their lives with something that was used to hurt them. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many who would claim hurt and offense at the mere mention of some truthful statements—even if there was no malice intended. That’s nothing we can control. We can wrestle freely with the realities of life and let the chips fall where they may. And we can invite others to join us in doing so or we can try and coerce others into it with those little truth fragments shaped into clubs. 

I would postulate that the more excellent way would be to invite people on the journey with us. And to demonstrate that the truth has the potential to actually set us free rather than hurt us as we walk deeper in the knowledge and reality of it.

Circling Back

Now, having set forth something I would consider to be a sound principle for general practices, I’ll have to circle back and add that there are, of course, exceptions. Life is full of twists, turns and nuances that make it difficult to make any idea a one-size-fits-all. I think it’s true that gently leading people to the truth is the way to do things in reasonable company and with people who are acting in mere ignorance. This is what Jesus demonstrated with the masses that He taught in such a manner.

But Jesus used a literal whip on a certain element of society and frequently used a verbal club on them as well. They were people He called some very harsh names, but ultimately they were hypocrites. They were people who taught things they did not practice themselves. In other words they were not acting in mere ignorance. They very well knew what the right thing was to do and didn’t do it in many cases. And they actively warred against Jesus—the living Truth. 

With such people it is obviously very hard to reason since they already know the truth but are coming up with clever arguments to evade it. I will leave it to each person’s discretion in knowing when they are encountering such a person and what the best approach is to deal with them. But, certainly, using truth as a club, or a tool of strong rebuke is within the realm of Biblical precedent in dealing with such people.

Staying Humble

Ultimately, we must remain humble in our quest for truth. Yes, we must be firmly anchored by it, but also, let’s realize there are others who are on a very honest search for truth that will think differently than us on peripheral issues. That’s okay. That’s no cause to pull out the verbal clubs. Those are reserved for extreme people in extreme situations. And if we are always quick to pull out the verbal clubs, then that means our guards are always up and we will likely miss out on truth ourselves when presented by someone we happen to disagree with. Then we’ve come full circle and might need a club over the head ourselves.