“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:5-7 NIV
The other night, my oldest son, 15, and I were watching the movie Cry Macho. My son loves watching movies, especially with his dad. He is a deep thinker, like his dad, and he doesn’t like interruptions during his movies. Therefore, he really caught me off guard when he hit pause on the movie and said, “Dad, can I ask you a question?” These are my favorite words to hear from my sons, by the way. Something in the movie sparked a thought and he wanted to talk about it. After he asked the question, I said, “Hey, let’s go get some ice cream and talk about it.”
The movie created a moment, but the moment was more important than the movie.
I am not going to get into the question that he asked as that is not the point of this message. But I will tell you the answer that I gave him. “Son, the truth is becoming harder and harder to find. If you really want truth, then you have to put in the hard work to find it.”
Many people are not willing to put in the work to find truth. Life is hard. Life is busy. Life is loud. It takes a lot of hard work to dig through all of life’s distractions to find truth. Thinking about this, I was reminded of the movie For Love of the Game. In the movie, Kevin Costner’s character, a major league pitcher, used an interesting technique to zero in on focusing in the midst of chaos. While on the mound, with all the commotion and pandemonium in the stadium, he tells himself these words, “Clear the mechanism.” Suddenly, all the noise is silenced. When we are seeking truth, we often need to “clear the mechanism.”
You do not have to work hard to find information. Information is flying at us from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed. As soon as you grab your phone, turn on a tv, listen to the radio, or start a conversation with someone, information is bombarding you. But is it truth? How do you find out? The answer: Put in the work. You, and I mean you personally, must dig to answer that. The easy thing to do is just believe the information you hear. That used to be somewhat acceptable, but things have changed very rapidly. The same information can be drastically different depending on where it is coming from.
I am really writing about truth in general, but I fully recognize that our minds automatically go political these days. If I was the reader right now, I admit that I would be reading this politically as well. So, lets make one political truth before we move on. Here it is: Cable news is a business. They have a bottom line, and it is to make a profit. The selection and narrative of the information drives the ratings. The ratings drive the sponsorships. Thus, the sponsorships drive the narrative. With this said, I enjoy watching cable news. It is both informative and entertaining to me. But truth doesn’t come from cable news for me, information does. I filter the information based on the work I have put in searching for truth.
No, this is not easy. Most of the time it is frustrating. But, like today’s scripture tells us, “Though it cost all you have, get understanding (v. 7).” The hard work searching for truth is worth it. For me, truth is the Word of God. So, the truth I am really writing about today is spiritual. For me, spiritual truth transcends all other areas of my life, such as politics, family, raising kids, coaching, business, relationships, etc. There is one core belief and values that provide truth for all aspects in my life. I do not believe that I would be able to keep up with having one set of values Monday through Saturday and a different set for Sunday. I confess that I am not that organized. I do not always get it right, but I have that core truth to fall back on, regroup, and start moving forward again. Here is a personal truth that I have come to know. Maybe you can relate. When I watch or read the news I become angry at people who do not believe the way I do. When I go to my source of truth, reading the Bible and praying to God, I feel empathy, love, and respect for those same people that do not believe the way I do. This is always confirmation to me of where truth should come from.
You may not agree with me when it comes to spiritual truth. That is okay. But let me ask you a few questions.
- What do you do with all the information coming at you?
- Do you have one core set of values that drive truth?
- Do you believe in a higher power?
- What will happen when you die?
- Is everything political to you?
- Is your social media just an extension of your favorite news outlet?
- Do live with constant anger toward people who have opposing views?
These questions reflect your effort in finding truth. I am not your source of truth. My website is not your source of truth. I am a source of encouragement in your journey towards truth. I do not want you to just believe what I believe. I want you to put in the hard work to find truth. That is what I am encouraging you to do today. Grab your shovel, start digging, and get to work!
