The truth is based on facts. It is the reality of events. People should always be guided by the truth. Judgements should be made based on the truth, which is a narration of the facts at hand.
sundayword BY PROSPER TINGINI
Those who seek to hide the truth are not only doing a disservice to themselves but to others as well. It is also common knowledge that some people have been persecuted for telling the truth, especially if that truth works against practices or beliefs of particular individuals. Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross just for speaking the truth. He never hurt or killed anyone, but sacrificed himself for others to uphold the truth.
In our ordinary lives, the truth that does not hurt anyone is easy to tell. Yet, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where we are compelled to hide the truth in order to save our own skins or those of others. Anything devoid of the truth is called a lie. We can then become prisoners of our lies because of the guilt that creeps inside us. Unless that guilt is released, we remain entrapped with the feeling of guilt, thus losing our emotional freedom. The truth sets us free.
Few people will admit to a guilt if they know that such an admission will result in a loss of something valued. How many married individuals will ever admit to committing adultery? Very few, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. How many of our leaders will admit to failure if it threatens their continued occupancy of their positions? Even if they might not have committed any meaningful sin, and if the truth be told, their failures could subject other people to a lot of suffering. It is then not surprising that such leaders will then seek to persecute those who seek to tell the truth just to stay in power.
Some people might even enlist the services of other people for the purpose of hiding the truth or of subverting justice. Those who allow themselves to be used in such a manner are not only bringing shame upon themselves, but are also acting against God. In Exodus 23: 1, the Lord our God commanded the people, “You shall not utter a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man, to be a malicious witness”.
At times, just accepting the truth is very difficult, even if there is overwhelming evidence to it. Many times a person is caught in the act of doing a bad thing but will try to deny it just to save one’s reputation. One will most likely try to blame it on others, mainly towards the accusers, who would have exposed the bad deed. When a thief who is caught red-handed is asked for the cause of his arrest, he will almost always reply by saying, “They are saying that I stole”, thus shifting the blame and the truth from himself and pointing to others.
There are other people who refuse to accept the truth even if it’s presented with facts. People will always hold different views on the same subject/matters. It is a fact of life (apart from mathematics). Even when there was ample evidence that the world was round, some people still held on to the view that the world was flat. Such people stubbornly refuse to accept any facts that go contrary to their long-held views. They will not be swayed from their beliefs at any cost, and by any truth.
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On this planet people follow different religious beliefs. The worship of gods has taken many dimensions from prehistoric times and has evolved with time. Religious evolution was at times influenced by political events, which then reshaped some beliefs. The predominant religions of today follow different ideologies based on a particular path of history. Interestingly, it is pleasing to note that even if these major religions subscribe to different views, they seem to join together at the far end, to synchronise in worshipping the one Almighty God. Muslims worship Allah (assisted by teaching of Mohammed). Jews worship Yaweeh or Jehovah (through laws of Moses, etc). Christians worship God (through Jesus Christ). The end result is that they all worship the same God through different routes (I speak as a Christian). To a large extent, harmony has prevailed on this planet across the different religious groupings.
As a Christian, I have found that although we all worship the same God, through Jesus Christ, our views on the actual role of Jesus Christ and of his status on this planet tend to differ from one Christian denomination to the other. Additionally, I have found that there is more enmity between the different churches within the Christian communities than the enmity between Muslims, Jews and other religions.
One classic example is an article I wrote in this paper on this same page on the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity on January 8 2017. The doctrine of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is practised among some Christian groups.
In the article, I was merely pointing out to the historic background to the origins of the doctrine, dates and the people involved. The responses I got showed me how deeply divided the Christians themselves are on this topic. Many contacted me to thank me for highlighting the truth of the origin, although they expressed varying beliefs.
However, even the presence of the facts of historical records, somehow seemed to irritate one individual almost to the point of insanity, by him continually bombarding me with endless messages over a two-day period. He claimed that despite all the evidence, we should not link history with religion. I reminded him that the Bible itself is a collection of historical writings, of history itself, of laws, prophecy, poetry, proverbs, songs and letters; we should not just discount factual history from religion. The Bible is also a history of religious events recorded to have happened in the past. We should respect the truth of history if it is based on records or facts.
Although people can quote various chapters and verses to support their claims, it is evident to me that some people are prisoners of indoctrination. We are sometimes blind followers, immunised against facts and the truth, making us religious prisoners.
My advise to people is to strive to dig out the truth, to say the truth, to base our beliefs on the truth and to use the truth for the betterment of mankind. The truth will set us free.
Prosper Tingini compiled a book titled God’s Constitution for Mankind – The Laws and Commandments. His contact details are 0771 260 195 or email: [email protected] or the book can be purchased from Innov8 Bookshop, 23 G. Silundika Avenue, between First & Second Street, Harare
