DAY 245
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
pastorrobert@paxpres.org
Week Thirty-five Saturday 14 November 2020
When Truth and Trust Diverge
The theme of this post was birthed in me while reading an article on the relationship between evangelical Christians and the plethora of conspiracy posts out there purporting to be based on truth. These twin forces of truth, a noun, and trust, a verb, form the basis of our Christian faith. We believe the scandalous statement of Jesus in John 14:7 – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If we believe that this statement is truth, and that Jesus is the personification of truth, then it follows logically that we therefore trust in that truth. It is our Christian capacity for trust that makes us vulnerable.
What happens when those who trust embrace things that are not true but do so precisely because they are trusting individuals? Nothing appeals more to the brokenness within us and nothing is more oppositional to the truth we embrace than conspiracies. Once embraced they take an almost demonic hold on those who embrace them, who then defend them vigorously. To do otherwise, to acknowledge we have been wrong, says something about our inability to discern rightly and we are, more often than not, unwilling to expose ourselves that way.
Conspiracies feed on fear of a particular form of government, of those with whom we disagree, of others who are ‘not like us,’ with the greater the fear the more frightening the conspiracy. But to repeat anything that is not true is to disobey God: “Do not spread false reports.” Exodus 23:1. No false reports gain more traction today than those stirring in religious language that appeals to evangelicals and claims to come from a secret source, many quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Conspiracy comes from the Latin for ‘to breathe together,’ meaning ‘to agree to plot.’ Those who belong to Jesus have no business entertaining or worse, spreading conspiracies. As Christians, we are to live by John 3:21: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in God’s sight.”
Reflective question: In this present charged political atmosphere, will you ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything you are believing that isn’t true? Determine to trust truth and trust in truth.
Reflective Scripture: Proverbs 18:8 – “Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.”
Reflective hymn: “Open My Eyes” – Clara Scott (1841-1897)
Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hand the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Open my ears, that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
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