Today’s Scripture Reading (November
17, 2019): 2 Chronicles 12
Professional Counsellor Craig Lounsbrough
argues that “If the truth gets in the way, I will remove it. But truth be
told, removing the truth never removes the truth.” Sometimes it seems that this
is the way that life works. We cling to the truth as long as truth is
convenient and works for us. But when truth no longer gets us what we want, we
easily discard the truth and embrace a lie. And this pattern permeates every
area of our lives. This exchange might be the most obvious in the public areas
of our lives, but the lie doesn’t just live there. The ever-present temptation
that we all face is to accept into our lives what benefits us the most, whether
it is the truth or not.
As
Rehoboam’s reign began, he needed God. The nation was divided over his reign.
It seemed that at every turn, there was a threat to his position as King. But
Rehoboam knew that God had promised his grandfather David that there would
always be a descendant of David’s on the throne of Israel. And that meant
Rehoboam. In the fragile moments at the beginning of Rehoboam’s reign, he clung
to that promise and the God who had made it.
But as
time went on, Rehoboam began to feel constrained by God. He became more secure
in his reign and thought that he no longer needed the God of David. And so he
left the truth of God and embraced a lie that gave him the freedom to do
whatever it was that he wanted to do. The truth (God) had gotten in the way,
and so the truth (God) had to be removed from the life of the king. But that
did not mean that truth or God ceased to exist. We can pretend that truth is
not truth or that truth is not necessary for our lives, but that does not mean
that truth stops existing. The lie of our culture is that truth is relative;
what is true for me may not be true for you. But the reality is that truth,
real truth, is true for all of us. Truth is a knife that cuts both ways. And
rather than arguing that truth is not really truth, maybe we need to begin to
make our peace with truth and learn to live within its dictates.
Maybe
the worst comment regarding Rehoboam’s reign was not that Rehoboam exchanged
truth for a lie, but rather that he led the nation to do the same. All of
Israel, or more precisely Judah, here and elsewhere in 2 Chronicles, followed
the example set by the king. Rehoboam had not just exchanged the truth for a
lie, but he led the whole nation to do the same. But that did not mean that the
truth was erased. And as is true in our lives, when we ignore truth, there is
always a price that we have to pay.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Kings 14
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