Tell Me the Truth! Really?

by Dr Leong Tien Fock

In 2003 the most significant event in Malaysia was the change of the Prime Minister. The most significant thing the new Prime Minister said was: "Tell me the truth. Sometimes people do not provide truthful information for fear that I will cry, worry or lose sleep over it. But as a leader, I have to know the truth. If we (leaders) are not prepared to hear, then we should not become leaders."

People in positions of power tend to surround themselves with those who will tell them only what they want to hear. If Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi really meant what he said he stands out as an extraordinary leader. This alone will not make him a great leader. Other qualities are needed. He may or may not have these other qualities. But his desire to hear the truth will enable him to be a much better leader than he would otherwise be.

What makes his statement extraordinary is that by nature we do not always want to hear the truth. This is especially so if the truth reveals that we are wrong and requires us to do what we do not want to do. So to be open-minded to hear the truth is to become vulnerable. This can be a painful experience.

But if we are not willing to face the consequences of the truth we will not be willing to accept the truth. We may not even want to hear the truth. And if we do hear, we may not accept it, even when the truth is presented in a way that we cannot deny it. And even if we accept it intellectually we may not accept it emotionally. A mere intellectual acceptance of the truth can do more harm than good. It may lead us to pay only "lip-service" to the truth and become immune to it.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is often quoted as having said, "... then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). But this is only the second half of what He said. The first half was: "If you hold to My teaching, then you are really My disciples; then ..." (John 8:31). The second half, which we like to hear, depends on the first, which we do not like to hear. Only those who are willing to hold to His teaching will know the truth (of who He really is) and only then will the truth set them free.

Christ did not say, you will be informed of the truth, and the truth will set you free. Anyone who reads the Bible is informed that Jesus is the Son of God who has all authority in heaven and on earth. But only those who know the truth of who He is and what He has done for us will be set free. But we do not know the truth until and unless the information has become an integral part of our thinking, feeling and living. This cannot happen without holding to His teaching. And this involves a willingness to obey Him, that is, willingness to put the information (truth) of who He is into practice. For if Christ is who the Bible says He is, we must be willing to obey Him in every area of our lives. If not are not willing to obey Him, we do not really want to know the truth of who He really is.

This relationship between the willingness to practice the truth and the ability to know the truth applies not only to the truth about Christ. It applies to all truth. In the case of the Prime Minister he wants to be open-minded to the truth about his government and the state of the country so that he can find real solutions to real problems. An evolutionist will not know the truth that we are created by God and are thus accountable to Him unless he is willing to submit to his Creator. A feminist who insists that a woman soldier has the "right" to combat duty will not know the truth that maleness and femaleness are designed by God and not invented by society.

This is not to say that people knowingly want to base their lives on lies. When we do not know the truth, we mistakenly, even sincerely, believe in a lie as truth. Often this is the result of having been exposed to only "one side of the story". This is why we must be willing to hear the other side of the story, no matter how unpleasant it may seem to be. We can always reject its version of "truth" if after hearing it out we have reasons to believe that it is false. But the very refusal to hear with an open-mind may indicate a commitment to cling on to our version of "truth", no matter what. This is why the Prime Minister’s statement, if made sincerely, is so commendable.

How then do we evaluate which version of "truth" is the "true truth". How do we know the truth?

This brings us back to what Jesus said: those who are committed to His teaching will know the truth. We will correctly understand His teaching only if we are committed to it. We can then use His teaching to evaluate the opposing versions of "truth" that are presented to us.

But how do we know that what Jesus said is the truth?

If we have truly become a Christian, the Holy Spirit would have opened our eyes to see sufficient truth about Christ so that we can recognise in our heart that what He said is true. God knows we need at least this starting point to begin with. So He has given it to us supernaturally. It is now up to us to decide whether we are willing to bear the cost of discipleship to grow beyond that.

Dr Leong Tien Fock is Research coordinator of Malaysia Campus Crusade for Christ.