“Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
We say, hear, and read innumerable words each day. Whether from articles, podcasts, or passing conversations, a steady stream of information flows in and out of us constantly. But, if we are astute, we know that there’s some misinformation mixed in there too. The article is slanted. The podcast is mostly entertainment. And we are sometimes less than perfectly honest in our speech.
But what is to be done about this misinformation? How can we deal with this element of untruth that enters into society and causes so much trouble? Some suggestions include vigorous fact-checking or credential verification. But these options have limits. They aren’t foolproof, and tragically many people are still duped by obvious falsehoods. These falsehoods darken the world, and make it harder to see any walkable path ahead.
There’s no easy solution to this problem. But a hard one is this: to commit to rigorous honesty ourselves. We can never give voice to something we know to be untrue. In this way, we accept the shape of reality, and we avoid distorting it for our own ends (however noble those ends look in the moment). We are made more receptive, more docile to things as they are, and not merely things as they appear to us. By this receptive attitude, we become attuned not merely to the world, but to the Maker of the world. This maker is Truth itself, truth in person. If we permit ourselves to be guided by him and by his words, we will successfully navigate the tricky paths ahead in our lives and in the life of the world.