“Everyone else has to be better off than me…”

He stood next to his car, fishing his keys out of his pocket, and eventually jammed one into the door with a sharp twist. “It’s classic nothingness, a massive stomach-ache of stupidity and half-truths,” he said; “I hate my life.” Whoever was on the other end of that phone had either called at the wrong time or answered at the wrong time. I didn’t envy the poor listener one bit.

I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping. I was just standing there. The guy’s rant was unusually eloquent for 8 o’clock in the morning. My memory isn’t perfect but the general gist of this particular conversation wasn’t lost on me. Something about the whole scenario seemed vaguely familiar.

Was it the tone or the words? Perhaps it was the mood of the speaker. Maybe it’s all of the above but one thing is for sure; I’ve been on the other end of that same phone call numerous times. The depressed mess of a message has been left on my voicemail in at least 20 different voices. “Meaningless, nothingness, life stinks, I never get what I need, I don’t know what to do…  call me back?”

It’s easy to wallow in self-pity if the physical world is all we see. We’re looking for something different but whatever we’re looking for, we’re not getting.  A five minute glimpse at a television talk show in a waiting room confirms the sad fact. We’re all sick and losing it. At least those women who have 3 children by 4 different men are being honest. We still appreciate that truthfulness, don’t we?

We’ve heard it all before. “That’s life,” some people say.

That’s death actually. Even though accepting junk is normal, it’s killing us. Just like those big, greasy burgers we like to eat at the local fast food joint. Swallowing a couple of them won’t put you in the hospital but eat a burger or two every day and you might want to call the ambulance while you’re at it.

How about swallowing the vein-clogging honesty of daily depression or bad habits?  Does anyone feel more trusting of that wonderfully honest person who is willing to shamelessly feed you their morbid feelings or slimy, dysfunctional lifestyle? If you don’t like it and have the gall to express your distaste, you’re considered judgmental. After all, they’re just being honest.

The unfortunate property of language is that a word commonly used has the tendency to change in perceived meaning over time. Case in point: Truth. People don’t know what the word “Truth” means anymore. In fact, Truth has been totally twisted to mean the opposite of what it actually is.

Every new generation has to produce a vocal visionary to defend the accurate interpretation of pet issues of their day. In the last generation, C.S. Lewis felt the need to defend miracles. I often wish we had a C.S. Lewis today to defend Truth; I’d welcome that miracle.  Our current liberal media has such a limited, unhealthy perspective on the subject.

If I were to set the record straight in one line, it would be this: “Truth” doesn’t describe the way things ARE, Truth is a term describing the way things SHOULD BE.

“The Truth will set you free” is from John 8 and comes with a fantastic context. The context is rarely quoted but here it is in the words of Jesus: “If you hold to my teachings you are really my disciples. Then you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.”

Jesus is His teaching. His teaching is the Truth. He is the Truth. He is the way things should be.  That’s what will set you free. So, who’s being honest here?  Jesus made the world. He made it to work perfectly. We helped to make it a mess. Our destructive habits put us where we are – and it’s not the way the world works; it’s the reason it doesn’t work. Therefore, unless we’re holding up the Truth, we’re the liars.