What is truth?
By Lianne de Baat (field worker)
As I write this blog, the Passion season lies just behind us. Questions regarding the truth are not unknown in the Passion narrative. Pilate surveyed the large crowd gathered before his judgment hall. He saw the Jews, he heard the Lord Jesus, Who, as the Accused, testified to the Truth. And Pilate wondered, ‘What is truth?’
Money for the taxi?
A question that often comes up while working in the fields. What is true? When I received a call from one of the Bible class attendees, for example. He had to go to Bronkhorstspruit, a village nearby, to collect his (relatively) small unemployment benefit. He was looking for money for the taxi. Perhaps I could help him with that?! Immediately the question popped up in my mind, ‘Is this true?’ Perhaps he was looking for money for the taxi. However, there was also a good chance that he was looking for money to replenish his drug supply. What is truth? What is the wise thing to do?
MONEY FOR FLIP-FLOPS?
Or that time we had just finished a women's class in Phumzile. When the class was over, two women from the group lingered a bit. I had a hunch they wanted to ask me something. They came up to me. ‘Lianne, could you help us? We would like to crochet new slippers out of worn ones and sell them. But would you please not turn this into a project for the women’s class? Because we would like to keep this ‘recipe’ a secret, so that we can sell the slippers here in Phumzile as well.’ They looked at me questioningly, and I already knew what they were thinking. Perhaps Lianne can help with purchasing the materials. I really would have liked some time to think. Time to consider, ‘What is truth?’ Do they really have no money to buy materials? Perhaps! And for me, it is no trouble at all to get a pair of cheap slippers and help them out. But then again, ‘What is the wise thing to do?’ Do I help them by doing the shopping for them just once? Will they manage to save some of the money earned and buy new supplies again?
The real truth
These are just two examples, and I could make the list a lot longer. Time and again, situations arise that call for truth and wisdom. So often I feel foolish and ignorant. How do I know what is right? Pilate asked for truth in the presence of the Lord Jesus, Who is called Truth Himself. In this work, we also need the Truth Himself time and again to make the right decisions.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom (Psalm 51:6).
