Truth Matters… (September 2024 Update)
Truth matters – in every area of life. Someone once said, “Truth is always free – a lie is always costly.” History if full of examples where a failure to tell the truth has resulted in ruining lives, families, careers and even empires. One example comes to mind from the baseball world. In 1998, the Toronto Blue Jays hired a former major league player named Tim Johnson to be their head coach. But that year, he became famous for motivating his players by telling them stories of his military action while serving in Vietnam. After the 1998 season, the truth came out. Although he did serve in the military, Tim Johnson never served in Vietnam and never saw combat. He was based only in California. Once that lie was uncovered, many others followed, including many on his resume. He even claimed that he turned down a basketball scholarship to UCLA when none was ever offered. As a result, Johnson was discredited and dismissed as manager of the Blue Jays just before the start of the 1999 season. The truth is always free – a lie is always costly!
In 1988, a similar, more damaging lie ruined Democratic front-runner, Gary Hart. There were rumors that he was not faithful to his wife which he vigorously denied. At one point, he even challenged reporters to follow him saying, “”Follow me around. I don’t care. I’m serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They’ll be very bored.” They did and they caught him with another woman in Miami and his campaign was ruined. The truth is always free – a lie is always costly! Truth always matters!
In 3 John, the apostle John speaks about truth 6 times in this short letter of 14 verses. John has been passionate about the truth in all his epistles. In 1 John 2:4, he says, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” In 1 John 3:18, John says, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” He ends his letter with multiple references to truth: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Truth matters because it affects every part of our being and our character. Once we begin to lie and deceive, it becomes a pattern that is hard to change. In 3 John, we see how truth affected 3 men that John writes about. First, we see Gaius who was an example of Love (vv. 1-8). Then we see Diotrephes who was an example of Pride (vv. 9-10) and finally, we see Demetrius who was an example of Consistency (vv. 11-14).
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