Truth ISN'T Relative

“Don’t believe everything you think”

Thomas Kida

“Don’t believe everything you think.” I saw this on a bumper sticker and found that it is a whole book by Thomas Kida. The premise of the book is that we are so easily mislead and therefore mistaken in our thinking. We can misperceive things that happen, we can want to believe something that is not true, and our memories can be inaccurate. How true I find this is when I think about how many times I have found something that I thought was true to no longer be true, but rather that I was mistaken in my thinking. We have all had many things like this. The rumor you heard that you found wasn’t true, the first impression you had of someone that as you got to know them wasn’t true of them, even the way that you see yourself to be so different than what others see. I’m sure you can think of many things that you how changed your mind on how you see them or think about them. This is not to say that we shouldn’t think because it can’t be trusted but rather that we should not take our thoughts as TRUTH, knowing that we can be mislead by them. For truth isn’t what you think, what someone says, or what culture believes, but rather what actually is true.

“You judge me with your human limitations, but I am not judging anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone--I have with me the Father who sent me.”

John 8:15-16 NLT

There is an emphasis on the search for truth and correct knowledge. It is understanding what is actually true and not just relatively true. Here in John Jesus is telling the people about what is true. He reminds them that their thinking has limitations. As does ours. We believe lies about ourselves, we believe gossip about others, we believe things that are not based on correct knowledge. Even the brightest person on earth has limitations and faulty tendencies to comprehend and interpret truth. Yet, God is true, as Jesus claims in verse 26, meaning He loves the truth, speaks the truth and is the truth. And Jesus has the Father in Him and has come to be Truth. Not relative truth, but the truth. The Truth that sets us free from having to rely on our human limitations, but allows us to partner with Him who is true and have access to this truth, to Him. So we no longer have to rely on ourselves or our thinking, but can depend on Him, on the Holy Spirit that is given to us to lead us into all truth. So, don’t believe everything you think, but everything that you hear from God.