Word of the Week: Objective

Remember Rachel Dolezal? She made national news a few years ago when she had to resign as President of the NAACP in Spokane, WA.

You see Rachel was born in Lincoln County, Montana, to Caucasian parents. But at some point in her life, she decided that she identified more as a “black” person than a “white” person. So, she altered her appearance and pursued a course in life associated with the African-American culture.

When she was exposed for lying about her ethnic background, she maintained that she inwardly identified as being “black.” In an NBC interview, she asserted, “I am more black than I am white. So, on a level of values, lived experience, currently, I mean, in this moment, that’s – that’s the answer. That’s the accurate answer from my truth.”

Recently Rachel was the subject of a Netflix documentary called The Rachel Divide in which she said, “I can’t go back to being white.”

While rather extreme Rachel is an example of subjectivism that disregards facts, reality, and truth.

While the word, objective may be used to refer to one’s actions intended to accomplish a goal, we’re speaking of “not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice.” Objectivity is unbiased. Factual. And founded on Truth.

Josh McDowell observed that in the past 50 years “We’ve had a major shift in what truth is and where it comes from. We’ve gone from being God-centered to self-centered, from being objective to being subjective, and from being internal to external.”

Like Rachel, we’ve heard people justify all kinds of ridiculous ideas, beliefs, and actions with the expression “my truth.” In other words, it might not be “your truth” but it is “my truth.” While there are some things that are matters of personal opinion, there is such a thing as objective truth.

Try using that logic when you are pulled over by a Highway Patrolman and ticketed for driving 80 in a 55-mile-per-hour zone. “Well, Officer, that may be your truth, but it’s not my truth.”

In years past the word “truth” was not preceded by “my.” Because it would make no sense. But in today’s culture that has rejected objective truth we hear it all the time.

People justify every kind of bizarre behavior by saying it is “my truth.” Religiously they can rationalize believing, worship, and practicing whatever feels right to them based on “my truth.” Morally our culture has decided that engaging in almost any immoral lifestyle is acceptable and ought to be celebrated if it is “my truth.”

What the world has forgotten is that God has revealed His Truth. In Psalm 119 the poet constantly reminds us that Truth comes from God. He speaks of “the way of Truth,” “the Word of Truth, and “your law is Truth.” In verse 160 he concludes, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”

God sent Jesus to this earth as the epitome and essence of Truth. He boldly claimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6).

When Jesus prayed to the Father on the eve of his crucifixion, he pled, “Sanctify them through Your Truth, Your Word is Truth”(Jn 17:17). Through the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of Truth” God’s message was revealed to the apostles and prophets (Jn 14:17; Eph 3:1-6).

John often called the apostle of love, often spoke of the value of Truth in his gospel account and in His letters. From these writings we learn the importance of knowing the truth, walking in the truth, loving the truth, and speaking the truth.

Sadly, we are seeing many young people today who have exchanged objective truth, God’s truth, for the popular “my truth” on a variety of doctrinal issues. The church is maligned, gospel preachers are old-fashioned, and the apostolic traditions are outdated, as the subjectivism of the “my truth” movement moves ahead.

ThePreachersWord calls for a return to objective Truth. Let’s open our Bibles. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s revelation. And learn from the inspired writers.

Let’s give up “my truth” for God’s Truth.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman