Even though they sometimes leave me feeling disturbed and dismayed by man’s capacity for evil, I like to watch true crime shows. My husband casts a wary eye at me when he walks in the room and I’m watching another “murder show,” although I’m pretty sure he’s only kidding when he wonders out loud if he should cancel his life insurance policy.
Actually, if anyone is expendable around here, it’s me. I’m not good at growing things, I can’t split firewood, and I’m basically a financial ignoramus. Crime shows only increase my appreciation for the fact that my hubby hasn’t slipped arsenic into my mocha lattes or “accidentally” launched me down the stairs headfirst.
I might have considered a career in law enforcement if not for my inability to tolerate blood and gore. It’s a shame my crime-solving brain happens to be housed in a body with such a delicate gag reflex. All things considered, journalism was definitely a better route for me. After all, in theory at least, detectives and journalists do strive for the same thing: to discover truth. (I see some of you cynics rolling your eyes.)
My obsession with discovering what is real and true goes back to my childhood. It’s why I read newspapers and biographies when I was a kid and steered clear of the fiction section of libraries. And why I was always an exceptionally terrible actress when forced to participate in drama productions. And why I never got away with telling a lie. And why I’ve often been told by family and friends that I ask more questions than any human they’ve ever met.
You can imagine what a hard time I’m having in this era of “fake news” and relative morality, when truth is so often sacrificed on altars of selfish desire, professional advancement, and political ambition. The needle on my internal truth-o-meter hits the red zone nearly every time I turn on the news.
Just think how refreshing it would be if everyone obeyed the biblical mandates found in Ephesians 4:15 to “speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)” and Ephesians 4:29 (Message Bible): “Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.”
Not that we should express every single truth that pops into our minds (remember the movie “Liar, Liar”?), but every single word we do speak should be true. Oh, how different our political system, government, news media (no more oxymoronic inaccuracies like “law-abiding illegal immigrants,” for example), justice system, advertising, and personal relationships would be. No misrepresentations, no empty promises, no manipulations, no false accusations, no blame shifting, no deception.
Sounds like heaven to me, and that’s because truth is part of the essence and character of the Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).” He never embellished, exaggerated, misled, manipulated or deceived. He just spoke straight-up truth in love. Even when Jesus said hard things to hard people, His motive was to lovingly free them from the lies that kept them in bondage.
The first time I really understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ—that I could be forgiven of my sins, avoid eternity in hell, and experience a loving relationship with God—I knew it was THE big, foundational truth I’d been searching for. It was the answer that could unlock so many other answers. I knew it. And I still know it.
I’ll never get all the answers to my many questions in this life, but I’m okay with that now. I don’t need to know all the answers when I know and trust the One who does.