| True and False |
| I believe in a binary world. A binary world is one of stark contrasts, of black and white. There is no gray scale. There are solid and lasting principles on which one can base their life. |
| Thus, several section headers in the 2011 revision of the New International Version (NIV) Bible caught my eye. These are all in Matthew chapter 7: |
| The Narrow and Wide Gates [heading for 13-14] |
| True and False Prophets [heading for 15-20] |
| True and False Disciples [heading for 21-23] |
| The Wise and Foolish Builders [heading for 24-27] |
| These are all about the contrast between the ways of God and the ways of man. |
| I frequently hear people talk about "a gray area." By that they mean that a decision is not clear-cut. There is no apparent right action to take, or there are multiple options all with good and bad consequences. No clear guiding principle is available that will help provide direction. |
| Sometimes it appears that there is no absolute truth in a situation. In God's binary world, there is always a correct, true, "white" God-honoring choice available, in contrast to possibly many wrong, false, God-denying "gray" options. The grays are an illusion; none of them are white. |
| When in such a situation it might help to ask, "What would Jesus do?" (If you remember all the WWJD paraphernalia, your age might be showing!) That is, given all the specifics of the situation, what is the choice that God would prefer? It may not be clear to us, but I believe that at every branch in the road, at ever point of decision, there is a correct option, the option that God would make. |
| Yet, we often do not see just two choices available. We see three, four, or a dozen. Out of all the choices there is one that God would choose. It may not even be a choice of which we are aware. Yet it is the "white" choice. All others are "black" choices, ones that are not the correct path to follow. |
| Our society has for some time been moving in the direction of relative truth. The principle is that what appears to be true for me may not be the same as how things appear to you. We each are entitled to our own opinion. There is not one universal right answer; there is not absolute truth. Instead, everything is gray. |
| Such a gray world view is in stark contrast to biblical teaching, a teaching that promotes absolute truth, God given principles, and everlasting life over fuzzy thinking, flexible guidelines, and eternal oblivion. |