Truth, the Way and the Life

 

TRUTH - THE WAY AND THE LIFE

 

Thomas Jefferson said, we should seek without fear for the truth. The interesting words are not ‘seek’ or ‘truth’ but ‘without fear’, because, it seems, truth is something very few of us actually want at all. If it wasn’t so, there would be no need of whistle blowers. And we do need them. Risking their livelihoods, their peace and even sometimes their lives, whistle blowers do an essential job for society, exposing problems and wrong doing in business, in public life and in essential services. They often meet with huge resistance from their bosses and colleagues, none of whom wants to admit there’s anything wrong.  But what this means is that most people prefer living in illusion, that is unreality, rather than face up to the truth. And that is dangerous for us as individuals and as a society.

 

            Jesus said He was ‘the way the truth and the life’, and look what happened to him. Truth and life are closely connected. If the truth is reality, then it is also life, and our illusions are lies which imprison us and lead to death. So why is the truth so unpopular? Well, it’s hard work for one thing and for another, Thomas Jefferson was right, if you seek the truth then you really do have to be fearless.

 

            The seeker of truth has to start at home, seeking out the truth within. Another oracle, the Delphic Oracle, had the words, ‘Know thyself’ written above it. We need to discover the truth of who we are first and foremost. We need to know where our reactions and impulses come from. What is really me? And what comes from my education, culture, family or personal history, or from my upbringing? What are my underlying fears and desires and why are they there? And we do have to be fearlessly honest with ourselves, because only then will we discover that self knowledge which makes us free.  And then comes the prize, no longer the puppet of our unconscious urges, we become truly ourselves, we become real and can face the real world with confidence. Not only that, but we will have learned humility, tolerance and compassion for the other. We will be able to empathise, knowing that the other person, the person who has not faced him or herself in the same way is only partly responsible for how they are. Perhaps this is why Jesus could say, ‘Father forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.’

 

            But if we don’t seek the truth, imprisoned by our own unconscious urges and conditioning, we fear anything which throws light on who and what we are. We like our prisons. We find comfort in our prejudices, and hate anyone who threatens that comfort, looking on him or her as a threat to our very existence. Of course, they are not a threat at all. In fact, the reverse is true. The person who throws light into our darkest ignorance is helping us get out of the prison of unreality where we are bound. He or she is offering us a chance of real life. But we choose lies and death, because we are afraid, because we prefer our illusions and don’t want to give them up.

 

            This is why the devil is known as the deceiver. The devil and lies go together and bring death, because if we are not living in reality, we are not real either and therefore not truly alive. To become real, we have to accept and become truth, and then we are promised the glorious freedom of the children of God.  Jesus showed us the way, because He actually was ‘The way the truth and the life’.

 

            It’s funny how Christianity has such a cosy, weak and pathetic sort of image, when in fact it is so scarily demanding. We have to get real, to go the whole way, to be. For Hamlet the question was, ‘to be or not to be’. Was he talking about actual suicide or was it something deeper, whether to live in comfortable illusion or become a whistle blower.  Luckily we don’t all have to be whistle blowers, risking our lives and everything we hold dear. But we do have to face the most scary thing of all, ourselves. We do have to face the opening of our prison doors and the fresh air blowing on our faces. But it’s worth it. The prize is huge. We become real. We connect with the world as it really is and we are empowered by that. So, power to your elbows one and all. Seek and you shall find. Know yourself. Seek without fear for the truth. The truth makes you free. To be or not to be? Don’t bother even to ask. It’s a no brainer. The truth is all there is. Everything else is lies and illusion.