Dwight Fletcher | Can truth really be ‘your truth’?

Last week, we began discussing the war for truth. We looked at how easily information can be manipulated and how, in a world of artificial intelligence, social media, and competing voices, discerning what is true is becoming increasingly difficult.

But what if the issue is not simply that we cannot recognize truth but that we no longer believe there is such a thing as absolute truth?

You have probably heard the phrase “You have your truth, and I have mine”. It sounds tolerant and respectful. It sounds like the kind of thing an enlightened person should say.

But can we really have different truths? You can have different opinions. You can have different experiences. You can interpret situations differently. But ‘truth’ is different. If something is actually true, it cannot become false simply because I disagree with it.

We may disagree about what food tastes good, what kind of music is best, or who should win an election. Those are matters of opinion. But if I say it is raining outside, and you say it is not, both statements cannot be true in the same place at the same time. Truth is not created by what we feel about it.

And yet, much of our modern culture encourages us to live as though personal feelings can determine reality. If it feels right to me, it must be right for me. If I sincerely believe something, you should not challenge me. If something makes me happy, who are you to say it is wrong?

The Bible says otherwise. In John 17:17, Jesus identified one standard for truth, and it was the Word of God. Not our preferences or popular opinion. And God’s Word doesn’t change because a new generation finds an old conviction difficult. And it certainly does not become false because I wish it were different.

The real challenge is that truth often confronts us. We want the freedom of making our own choices without the consequences that brings. The idea that “there is no absolute truth” may sound liberating until we begin to live that way, especially around people whose feelings differ wildly from our own. When “my truth” or “your truth” lead to harm, destruction, pain, or grief, we experience suffering that God’s Word could have prevented.

We cannot build healthy families, workplaces, or societies where nothing is ever truly right or wrong.

This matters in our everyday decisions. At work, will you be honest when dishonesty could advance your career? In your relationships, will you be faithful when nobody is watching? Will you tell the truth when lying would be easier? Will you obey God when His Word challenges something you have grown comfortable with?

These questions reveal why the war for truth is not just happening on television screens, university campuses, or social media. It is happening in us.

Every day, we choose which voice will have the final authority in our lives. God’s Word? Our emotions? Popular culture? Our friends? Our personal desires?

There is a temptation to choose the option that requires the least change or effort from us. But truth cannot be reduced to whatever makes us comfortable. And here is the good news: God’s truth is not given to destroy us. It is given to lead us into life.

The truth may confront you, but it can also correct you. It may expose you, but it can also restore you. It may demand change, but the change it calls us to can bring freedom.

The question, then, is not whether we have “our own truth”. The real question is this: When the truth challenges what I want, who will I trust?

Next week, we will look at three things that make God’s truth worth building your life upon.