“Have you brushed your teeth?”
You’ve heard that question since you were young.
Sometimes the answer was, “Yes,” other times, “No.” But the truth would be somewhere in the middle. As kids we’d have lots more important things to do. Ten strokes back and forth on the front teeth and most kids think they’re good to go. Others figure that brushing every other day works fine for them. And still others believe the weekdays are enough. Weekends were made for halitosis.
Our parents, and TV commercials, drilled into our minds that we didn’t want the dreaded tooth decay! Instead, our parents longed to hear, “Look, Mom, no cavities!” (And then they rewarded us with candy!)
Tooth decay is painful. When the dentist says, “You’ll only feel a slight pinch” – they lie! They also know it’s expensive.
I read about a guy who received a bill three times the amount he typically paid for visit to his dentist. When he inquired about the charges, the dentist replied, “You yelled so loud you scared away two other patients!”
Today our society suffers from “truth decay.” Our courts require us to place our hands on a Bible and “Promise to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” and yet the truth eludes us.
“You can’t handle the truth!” is an often-quoted line in a popular movie from the 1990’s but today, the truth is we don’t want to hear the truth. Educators and scholars lecture that there’s no such thing as “absolute truth.” “You can’t handle the truth” has been replaced with “I don’t want to hear the truth” as we place our hands over our ears (and our hearts) and in effect saying, “I’m not listening!”
During his mock trial, Pilot asked Jesus, “What is truth?”
According to an ad I saw in a major national newspaper/trade publication, the writer/designer said in part:
The truth can’t be glossed over.
The truth has no agenda.
The truth can’t be manufactured.
The truth doesn’t take sides.
But there’s another even more astounding truth about truth: It will set you free! (John 8:32)
Paul warned Timothy, “… there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3 (TLB)
That time has arrived.
Truth decay wreaks havoc in our culture, in our relationships and even in our churches. It’s piped into our homes and devices through the internet, through television and through social media.
How do we combat “truth decay”?
The only remedy for “truth decay” is to return to the One who said I am the way, the truth and the life. The implication of Jesus’ declaration confounds the culture. It remains the only hope for the world. This is the unaltered, unfiltered, unapologetic truth. Jesus declared God’s words are truth (John 17:17). It needs to be applied generously and frequently. Truth should be presented creatively and consistently using current communication platforms. Most importantly, the truth must be delivered with love (Eph 4:15). That’s the sole purpose of Here For You.
Here for You is a multi-media evangelism effort designed to scatter the truth of God’s word inside every heart and every home almost every day. Since it’s launch in 2014, more than 325,000 people have seen these “truth spots,” if you will, in three test markets. During the most recent Super Bowl, an estimated 849,000 people across Louisiana saw the Here for You spot two or more times and an additional 300,000 people were engaged via social media.
Pray for these seeds of truth to find good soil in the hearts of those who’ve seen the spots. Ask God to protect and nourish those seeds and continue the process of drawing people to Himself.
The people in Louisiana, and our entire country, desperately need a “truth infusion.” No legislation coming out of Baton Rouge or any parish office can stop the cultural decay. Only God’s truth can change a heart and correct the course of a culture.
You can be a part of this “truth infusion.” Go to HereForYou.org and share these spots on social media platforms for yourself and your church. Every time you share, you’re helping seed God’s truth in the hearts of those who view your posts.
Let’s pray together, let’s work together and let’s give together to take God’s truth into the highways and hedges of people’s hearts and homes.
