knowing your secrets - thoughts on truth, part i

photo: flickr

"Does that make sense?" has become my most oft repeated phrase this school year.

In my senior classes, I teach Christian worldview. If you're unfamiliar with this idea, think philosophy, history, theology, and apologetics all rolled up into one. Perhaps you can see why I must keep constant gauge of whether or not my students are tracking with me.

We deal with light, pedestrian topics such as, "What is the nature of truth?", and other rib-ticklers like, "How could a good God allow so much suffering in the world?".

Likely, I will not discern until the end of the year whether more learning or confusion has resulted from our time together, though I pray it will be the former.

As I was preparing for our upcoming series of lessons, a small revelation occurred to me . . .

Very few people actually love truth.

Many, if not most, people enjoy truth casually. That is, they value honesty in their relationships, hate being lied to, etc., but few people passionately pursue what is true. In fact, sometimes we enjoy the farce.

I will ignore the easy "suspension of disbelief" required to watch movies and enjoy magic shows. Rather, when it comes to real life, we also enjoy a little slight of hand.

We like to believe that politicians are going to bring real change, or that their promises are not hollow. We like to assume the best of loved ones, even when they have repeatedly proven themselves untrustworthy or even dangerous.

We LOVE ignoring odds, whether in sports, with the lottery, or at the doctor's office.

Sometimes bucking reality can have advantages. Patients believing in their ability to fight cancer actually does improve their chances of survival.

On the other hand, playing the lottery on a weekly basis does not a good investment strategy make.

One of the most wonderful beauties and yet one of the most disturbing tragedies of the human mind is its complexity. Our self-awareness sets us apart as the only animals who can reason, discover, and discern with such incredible depth.

Yet our power to deceive, both others and ourselves, is destructive beyond our wildest dreams.

Whether or not we believe it, truth matters.