A World of Difference in a Word

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). It is true, we can repackage ideas like odd Christmas gifts that never properly left the box for whatever reason. A fresh coat of wrapping paper and it is a good gift to give to someone else. The recipient receives a new gift. Ideally they will use it, t least it is gone from storage. Wrapping the gift makes it seem like new, in fairness, it is often not a terrible practice. We do this in many areas of life, most importantly we do this with ideas.

At the end of the 20^th century, we saw a philosophy rise called postmodernism. It can be hard to define, but it has given rise to a number of terms such as “your truth,” or “my truth.” This phrase is in one way a denial of the truth that grounds the world, but it is also a defense mechanism to ward off accusations of wrongdoing. It is the ideal phrase with which to destroy a society.

Simply put, “your truth” denies any truth. It denies the truth in that if two people have contradictory truths then they are both assumed to be right. There can be cases where limited perspectives can produce contradictory stories. One person looks at how flat the world is and says to himself, “the world is flat.” Another person realizes that you see the top of a ship coming across the horizon first and she realizes the earth is round. Then she believes it is a sphere. A professor, knowing the earth is spinning, recognizes the shape of the earth as an oblate spheroid. Are all right? Arguably the woman and the professor are similar enough while being different, but the man has a totally contradictory view to both. The earth can be flat or the earth can be an approximate oblate spheroid, but both cannot be true at the same time.

In one sense this comes from a conflation of the words truth and opinion. Many ‘truths’ are merely opinions that people are trying to buttress without actually defending. Opinions are common; everyone has a few, some have enough to open a department store. You can have opinions, but calling them truth is not a good choice.

The phrase, “my truth,” can be used as a defense mechanism. “My truth” is now unassailable because it is mine. The implied message is, “you cannot have it, you can use it if you like, but you do not own it, I do.” This personalized truth must be accepted, even if it is that the earth is flat.

So personal truth is under the control of the holder. It is sacrosanct and a solid foundation for living regardless of how weak the opinion masquerading as truth is. This entire line of thinking originated was my Bible reading. Proverbs 16:2 (ESV) reads, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.” The moment I read it the first half of the verse struck me as the postmodern wisdom of the world. If you define truth however you like then any sin is justifiable if you invent the right “truths”. The problem is that God is always there. There is always a grounding of reality. Scooping boiling water in your hand will always meet with reality of pain regardless of what “your truths” are. God will always know what your sins are and you will be held to account.

More often than not “my truth” is only an opinion. Truth takes time and effort. Reality is inescapable. The inability to actually discuss these things will only weaken us as a society. I know that the Almighty God will call all to account, but it will not be pretty in the present.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Lessons from Singing Together

Finally having our COVID reprieve our church has fully reopened. The first Sunday restored much of what was lost, a mask optional service followed in true Baptist fashion with a potluck, then an afternoon of games. It was a solid day of fellowship and everyone appreciated returning to deeper community. I have had many people wanting to do this while the restrictions have been active. We respectfully waited and had a great Sunday. There have been other ministries that I have resumed in person.

It has seemed like a impossibly long time that I have not been in the local Senior’s home for a Service. We have had no end of online services through facebook, but this leaves something to be desired, a small understatement. Perhaps the largest problem with facebook is the lag. It is a small delay from saying something to the other person hearing it. In meetings and simple conversations, most people would not notice it. For the service, the lag made singing together impossible. Basically, it felt like the others were dragging like an anchor on the seafloor and they are not that slow. I was so happy when I could finally meet them in person. It felt like an eternity, in truth, the delay was no longer than anyone else, but it felt better to finally be truly there. To be in their presence, to hear their singing properly, to see the smiles, all contributed to a better experience than the last few months.

I must confess that I was a bit mortified at the Senior’s centre service, mostly because of the singing. Do not get me wrong, it is not for the errors, those always happen. Especially when I only see them once a month and without a pianist there with always be some issue. I always adjust and move on. One song I was too fast so I had to slow down, minor issue. What got me was one song I had memorized with a repeated refrain, And also in the hymnal, they did not seem to know that. So I adjusted, it felt awkward, but I felt worse wondering how many times this happened in over a years worth of facebook mediated services. I could not listen to them sing the delay would make singing together impossible. So how many times did I just sing in a way that confused them? I am sure they were grateful for the service. They possibly even realized that social media played a part in the failure to connect, but the mediated service undermined our ability to be a community.

This is an example of something lost when we are not present with each other. It highlights how a virtual community is never the same as a community that has come together. I understand the need to isolate, especially the seniors. Saskatchewan was wiser in its approach, which saw senior’s homes under a stricter isolation, as compared to places like New York. But the virtual must always give way to the real. A mediated presence always lacks something. As Christians we should understand that well. Jesus died for our sins so that we can approach God unmediated. We no longer need a priest because we are forgiven. It changes how we can relate to God. This matters in our spiritual life, therefore it matters in the rest of life as well.

Photo by David Beale on Unsplash