What if I told you that the sky was green and the grass blue, dogs purred and cats barked? Would you agree with me, or hold that I’d lost my mind?
And what if someone makes promises they rarely keep? Would you trust them?
Or what about someone who shows you how to hate and never to forgive, causes division between you and others but never how to love them? Would you be happy? Ever?
Trust…
Would you trust those who lie to you? Would you follow them to the ends of the earth and obey their every wish?
If you do, why? Is it because it is easier than thinking for yourself, or making your own choices?
Trust is hard won. Once lost, it is difficult at best to ever regain it.
Lost, it destroys relationships on an individual, community, national, and even international level.
We’ve all experienced it. And we all respond differently.
Two types of people…
There are those who think for themselves and those who don’t.
Thinkers dig deeply into what is being told to them. They become the quiet wealth holders of knowledge and, sometimes, goods and money. It is rare for them to have relationships without testing the waters first. Just because someone says they are an expert doesn’t make them so. Thinkers don’t take people at their word until they are sure the other is trustworthy.
Those who don’t are like sheep. They are easily led, easily deceived. Their only concern is that they remain comfortable, regardless the cost of their own freedom of thought or choices. And they will argue that they are happy…until they lose. Discomfort stirs them to anger, but only at those outside themselves. Rarely will they take responsibility for their choices and lack of forethought.
So…
Next time someone you don’t know, no matter the position they hold, tells you to follow their advice, you will know if you are a thinker or a follower. To determine whether you are a thinker, you will question what they say within your own mind. If you are one who follows, you do so because it seems easier at that moment than resisting.
It doesn’t matter what position someone holds, the credibility and someone’s words depends on their past. If they say one thing, but they don’t follow their own demands, then their credibility does not exist.
But also give them grace. If they changed over the years, test their sincerity. They may be lying. Or they may be telling the truth. You won’t know unless you eschew what is said.
Humility…
Humility is a key to a trustworthy person. They will endure much humiliation and derision, but continue to trod unscathed toward the finish line. And if they see things amiss, they will not fail to sound the clarion call.
But those whose past shows a path riddled with errors and lies is not one to be trusted. They typically don’t change course without something great happening in their lives.
This also applies to the truth seeker. If you are not sincere in your search, but have a set opinion on the outcome, you are not humble. And you will be less likely to either find or recognize Truth when it comes along.
Authority…
Think about this when listening to “experts” and those in charge. The choice to question or to follow lies with your willingness to think for yourself.
It matters not if it is a doctor, politician, or even your own boss. If they tell you to follow their advice, have they been consistent in their own lives in that same area?
For example, if a doctor tells you to lose weight and get your health under control, are they doing the same thing for themselves? Or are they eating junk food, overweight, and take no time to get themselves in shape?
Honesty is first seen in action. Words are cheap. We’ve seen this repeatedly among political leaders and even some church leaders.
If the rules that are established are based on reasonableness, and they do not contradict the Laws of God, then they must be followed. Even if it’s a stop sign at midnight with no one around.
It is part of character. That is best seen when no one is looking.
Honesty…
Do they follow their own advice?
There are those who tout eliminating the global population to lessen the burden on the ecosystem. Yet they will not lead the way to eliminate their own strain on the same system.
The ability to find truth is becoming increasingly difficult. Searching online places such sites as “Snopes”, “Fact Checker”, etc. top the lists. Yet even they twist truth to fit whatever scenario exists at the time.
Be careful…
Learn to question what you hear. Do your own research. And find the hard data that back up claims.
Truth lies in facts. Real facts. And that is becoming a rare commodity.
Learn to research in odd places and out of the mainstream. “Think outside the box” is a truism.
Remember the bumper sticker, “Eschew Science”? It means to question science.
And it is applicable to everything that is generally accepted today. Everything.
Eschew everything…
Eschew what you hear. Scientists, politicians, even the Pope himself. If it is not based on fact, research data, history, tradition, reasonableness, or leads to the good, it is probably subjective. And being, subjective, it is a person’s personal opinion not objective Truth.
Whoever spouts the statement without providing backup, or has been proven wrong in the near past, eschew what they tell you.
Seek first Truth…
Learn to question. And pray to find the Truth. For in the Truth alone – the objective, unchanging Truth – you will find the right answers.
Don’t lean on your own understanding. And think your friends have all the answers. They may be just as lost.
Find your own way. And seek to know what is right.
You will find it. It is one thing God will never tell you “NO!” to if you are sincerely seeking. If you are willing to know what is right and you pray to find it, you will. Even if what you seek will turn out to be painful.
Guaranteed.