Living God's Truth
Many of you have likely heard reality stars and celebrities speaking out about “living my truth.” This can be heard with changes in their gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, sharing their side of a story, and the like. When this terminology is used - living their truth - it is celebrated.
My sweet friend sent me a song prior to the new year that got me thinking about the concept above. The song was “First Things First” by Consumed by Fire, and the band sings:
“First thing’s first
I seek Your will
Not my own
Surrender all my wants to you
Keep the first thing first
To live Your truth
Walk your ways
Set my eyes
Lord I fix my face on you
All my desires reversed
To keep the first thing first”
What exactly does the word “truth” mean? Webster Dictionary has a list of definitions including “the body of real things, events, and facts; a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true.” One of the definitions under the Christian science subcategory of truth states “GOD.”
While the world celebrates people living their truth, what about God’s truth? The song above sings about living Your truth, speaking about God, and not my own. So what is right?
For this answer, let's turn to the Bible. In John 8:32, Jesus tells us that “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The book of John also states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Many other scriptures tell us that the word of God is truth and every word of God is true (Psalm 119:160, Proverbs 30:5)
Jesus is asked what the most important commandment is in Mark 12:28-31. “The most important one,” Jesus answered, “is this: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Loving God is the greatest commandment. If God is truth, loving Him and having a relationship with Him means loving truth and living out His truth. His truth becomes your truth because He lives in your heart (Ephesians 3:17). The Bible also commands us to worship God in “spirit and truth” (John 4:24). He even gave us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide us.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
The way our world uses the phrase “living my truth” allows us to sin, manipulate truth, and celebrate it. When we live within God’s truth, we will find life and peace and joy.
You will find goodness and forgiveness and faithfulness. You will still be tempted, but if you call on God, He will strengthen you to be greater than the temptation of sin. You will not find condemnation in Christ, but you will likely find conviction to live like Christ.
Do not let this world sway you to believe “living your truth” or living in sin, is the way to live. Live a life fulfilled by staying rooted in Christ. Walk His ways and live His truth. Keep the first thing first.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney can be described by the opening lyrics of a few Tom Petty songs. She's a good girl who grew up in a small Indiana town who loves her mama, Jesus, and America too. She practices medicine as a physician assistant at an urgent care. Whitney is a music enthusiast and leads worship at her church. She has a heart for people, and wants to help young girls and women find their worth in Christ rather than what the world says of them. Whitney loves a good dad joke, Southern manners, working on her fitness, attempting macrame crafts, and hiking and traveling with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Milly.