E. Michael Jones in his book entitled, Degenerate Moderns, makes this observation: “There are ultimately only two alternatives in the intellectual life: either one conforms desire to the truth or one conforms truth to desire.” Truth often stands in the way of me fulfilling my desires. When truth does not fit my desires, rather than acknowledge the wrongness of my desires, and seek change, it is easier to change the “truth” and bring it in line with my desires. Thus truth, ceases to be an unchanging standard once it becomes flexible, and man can adjust it to fit his desires. Not unlike children who want to change the rules of the game once it becomes evident that they are not winning.
Of course, our approach to the dilemma of truth standing in the way of our desires is often not framed in terms of “change,” but rather as a “reinterpretation.” This is most evident when one considers the societal shift that we have seen take place over the past century regarding sexual behavior. What was once regarded as contrary to the established truth is now regarded as acceptable, due to a reinterpretation of that truth. As a result, we can conclude that, “what we once thought was forbidden, was after all, acceptable all the time.” Thus easing our troubled conscience and enabling us to justify our behavior. The principle that we find at work here is that the mind justifies, what the heart has chosen.
But truth is another word for “reality.” To deny truth is to deny reality. To try and align reality with my desires is insanity. I may desire to jump off a ten story building and fly like a bird. But my desire will be harshly confronted with reality. The law of gravity cannot be changed, reinterpreted, or brought into conformity with my desires. If I try to “break” the law of gravity, I end up broken.
Likewise, moral truth is a reality that we are confronted with. A society may deny it, seek to change it, or reinterpret it, but that society will ultimately find itself broken by it. History bears witness to civilization after civilization that was shattered, trying to conform truth to their desires. This is true for individuals, as well as, societies.
Truth warns me to stay away from indulging those desires which are destructive to me and others. I can change the label on the bottle to no longer read poison, but the drinking of the contents still has the same results. In the attempt to conform our desires we only deceive ourselves, and truth stands as a witness to our foolishness.
Don Walker is a teacher, counselor, and writer living in the Kansas City area.To contact Don please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
What do you think? Comment below and start the conversation by engaging.
Hugh Cunningham
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When sparks fly, don't split. Well wriiten, Gary. If there isn't friction, there's probably not real-relationship. As North American Christians, we quote Proverbs 27:17 frequently..."Iron sharpens iron & one man sharpens another." It could be that we're so thin-skinned & offended easily because we do not make it a practice to stand in the pain of a relational conflict or disagreement. When the sparks fly, we scoot. As data reveals, Christian marriages have the same fatality rate as non-Christian marriages...sparks fly between husband & wife, they split. We continue to ignore our inadequacies, so we trust in ourselves...trust in our inadequacies. |
Jessica Rankin
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... This is so true! I think as Christians, we need to learn how to articulate our beliefs better without offending other people. I had a co-worker who had the complete opposite view as me in everything when it came to worldview, and we yet had a ton of good discussions about our worldviews because we both agreed to disagree with each other. We were both very strong in our beliefs and were not going to be convinced of anything other than what we believed, but we were able to argue our points with each other without feelings getting hurt or grudges being held. I think it would be great for more people to know how to build this kind of relationship with those they disagree with. As the person above me pointed out, we are ignoring our inadequacies in this area. This is why so many relationships these days aren't working out. Guys and girls go into dating/marriage relationships together and think everything is going to work out perfectly. Then when conflict comes into their relationship, rather then, as you said, eating a bag of salt and working through it together, they end it and try to find someone else. How to handle conflicts and not run away from them is a very big issue currently in out culture and I really enjoyed your article about it. |
jordyn cline
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... This is a message that needs to be more widely practiced and taught. Especially in the area of marriage relationships. Being a senior in high-school I see examples in culture all around me of kids who have divorced parents and their lives end up being 'divorced' from relationships as well. This disconnect comes from them not being correctly taught how to resolve conflict. As a result, those kids end up with numerous broken hearts and lots of unresolved conflict that they carry with them. Then when they become adults and find themselves having conflicts in their marriage, neither knows how to resolve the conflict effectively and the divorce rate climbs. Knowing how to resolve conflict is key to keeping traditional families and marriages alive. |
Jaelle Hamann
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The Revelation of Grace This article reminds me of how hypocritical we can be. And really hypocrisy begins when we don't have the revelation of God's grace in our lives. Ulitmately we become unable to function, attempting to rise to impossible standards and becoming hypercritical. Then when we can't keep our lives in control we attempt to control other people's lives and as the article says, force on opinion on others. Then when the time for conflict arises we are in a frenzy to control the situation, never resolving anything. But when grace is embraced and we are aware of our imperfections and allow Jesus to wash away our shame then we can approach conflict with humility. Pastor Dennis and his friend seemed to have come to terms with this idea, extending their own revelation of grace to one another even if they completely disagree. This is ability to "fight fairly" as the article says. No doubt all of us have come to areas of conflict in our own lives but the ability to extend the revelation of God's grace and the willingness to resolve will ultimately turn our "conflicts" into places of maturity and growth in our relationships. This is definitely key for Americans as we are continually squashed under pressures from our daily living, no doubt making us a little "edgier" and more temperamental. But as long as the revelation of God's love is ruling our lives and homes than our relationships will thrive with maturity and joy. |
