Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Concerning the truth

By Pastor William Jenkins

June 15, 2006

Have you ever known a time when it was difficult to speak or to hear the truth?

There are at least two great benefits of truth. First, Truth can be liberating. Jesus said “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” It must have been a painful moment for Pilate when he asked Jesus, “What is truth?” He was a conflicted man, struggling with what he believed was true about Jesus and a will too weak to act upon it. He was in bondage because of a truth that could have set him free.

Second, the Truth can bring healing. It is destructive of our health to live with a lie. The truth can heal the conscience, cause the mind to be at rest, abolish the physical symptoms of anxiety, dilute the acid of anger, settle suspicions, and restore the liberty of living. The truth might hurt at first, but it heals at last.

The key to healing and freedom is for us to be willing to accept truth. Truth is an absolute; and that makes some people nervous. Whenever we do not like the truth as it is, we may behave like an Arab in the desert who woke up in his tent at midnight very hungry. He lit a candle and reached for a bowl of dates. He took one out, held it to the candlelight. He saw that there was a worm in the date. He tossed it out of the tent. He reached for a second date, held it to the light, saw a worm in it as well, and tossed it out of the tent. Then he blew out the candle and proceeded to eat the bowl of dates. Ponder this the next time you are faced with an inconvenient truth.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org