Mar
1
Truth is Not a Point of View
Filed Under Devotional
Everyone can get along with everyone else if we just respect each other’s point of view. This concept sounds very nice and, at first glance, seems to be quite logical and sane. It works very well if we are talking about how you like your hamburger. You have it your way and I’ll have it my way and together we’ll do lunch. Mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, onions, pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes make a fine personal choice and it’s good for business.
Let’s ratchet up the subject, though. I want to drive an SUV that gets twelve miles to the gallon. My neighbor has a compact that gets 29 miles to the gallon. The lady down the street drives a hybrid that gets over 60. Her neighbor rides a bike that uses no fuel at all. Now, it is no longer a matter of taste, but there is an argument about impact on the planet and who is doing the most good and who is doing the most harm.
Ratchet it up, again. I think it is a personal choice to abort an unborn child. My neighbor feels it is okay in certain cases, but not after the baby has developed to a certain stage. Lastly, that radical on the corner thinks that all life is sacred and abortion is never an option. The consequence is now the taking of a life. Back with the hamburger, the decision was not a moral issue (leaving PETA aside for the moment). The choice of transportation begins to get a bit of a haze. The issue of life becomes not a choice of favorite flavor, but a truly moral choice. Now, a person’s point of view is not paramount and the concept of respect for a point of view takes a back seat to what is right and what is wrong. The closer one gets to life and death, the more morality is involved. The world view is relativism where, as long as it is a flavor issue, everyone pretty much can get along and one can always make a deal with the moral side of an issue by just avoiding the people with whom we disagree. The Christian has a much simpler world view about morality. He uses the Biblical view, the hard truth not conceived by man, but by a sovereign God.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Sin does not come in assorted flavors by which we can say, “My flavor is not as bad as yours.” There is only one flavor: that which goes against the nature of God. Our natures want to, and do, quibble about sin, but it is useless in God’s eyes.
“Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts.” Proverbs 21:2
Morality is about life and death. Sin is about life and death. Truth is about life and death, not respecting every point of view.