There are some words that we often use in our ministry that may seem innocent but do really impose something negative. This is problematic because it can create confusion among the members of our Church and even towards how we perceive ourselves.
There is a saying that “words build worlds” and as long as we continue to use these words or phrases, we will come to the knowledge that it really is okay to use them.
One of the most common among these mistakes is the phrase “your truth” versus The Truth. While these phrases are obviously different, they can sometimes be mistakenly interchanged.
“Your truth” or “my truth” is a phrase that we should refrain from using especially when we are talking about The Truth. Here are four reasons why this matters.
1. Your Truth Is Groundless
When analyzing and evaluating data and metrics related to their work, leaders frequently insist on a “single source of truth.”
When people show up to meetings with conflicting facts because they’re taking reports from multiple sources or relying on their own impressions, it’s a huge source of aggravation. Just because someone believes something is true doesn’t mean it is true for everyone else.
There are many different perspectives or interpretations of truth, but there is only One Truth. The truth can be expressed in a variety of ways, but there is only One Truth.
Declaring something to be “my truth” creates false and counterproductive impressions that truth is fluid, that it is not a consistent and unavoidable reality with which we must contend.
It does not benefit individuals; rather, it harms them by leaving them with nothing constant or reliable on which to rely.
2. Your Truth Is Unspiritual
As a Christian, maturing entails desiring God’s truth rather than inventing our own.
The impulse to adhere to “my truth” isn’t new; it dates back to the Garden of Eden. We can assert, as Adam and Eve did, that it is our right to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, to decide what is proper and good and what isn’t.
And by doing so, we put ourselves in the position of having to define truth. But, because we aren’t truth creators, we shouldn’t act (or speak) as if we are.
The Truth as stated in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
We are free if we know him and cleave to his truth as stated in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
We’re no longer under the constraint of building our lives on the foundation of fragility — our limited experience and understanding. We are no longer bound by ego; instead, we are free to know Truth himself.
3. Your Truth Is Not Reliant on God
The Apostle Paul refers to the good news of Jesus as “my gospel” in the Book of Romans and 2 Timothy,
This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares (Romans 2:16)
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel (2 Timothy 2:8).
He was so moved by the gospel that he took it close to his heart and clung to it closely.
But, unlike “my truth,” “my gospel” had nothing to do with Paul’s competence or self-reliance. He wasn’t announcing a course of action for himself. He wasn’t distinguishing himself from others, as if there were two gospels: one for him and one for others as stated in Galatians 1:6–9,
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
The Apostle Paul saw him as a jar of clay containing the treasure — the Gospel of Jesus Christ as stated in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
That’s how we should see ourselves: frail and reliant on the Lord of Truth. Jesus is far better and more liberating than the pressure to find and proclaim our own.
4. Only the Truth Is God’s Word
We can read several passages in the Bible that talk about The Truth. First, there is John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
There is also a passage from the Book of Genesis that says, “Send one of your numbers to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” (42:16).
Both passages have a different context in terms of truth but both of them similarly wanted to impose that there is The Truth.
It is clear from Jesus’ statement that The Truth is the Word, and the Word is Jesus. While the passage in Genesis states not to impose “your truth” but only tell what is The Truth.
Truth be told, The truth can never be “your truth” because The Truth is Jesus. Jesus is the Word that came to life to save us. Because of this, we should never make the mistake of interchanging these phrases — as if we are saying we are Jesus in saying, “your truth or my truth.”
What Does This Mean?
There are innocent mistakes that we make while we do our sermons or Bible studies or even when we speak to others. However, we should be keener in knowing our mistakes especially if we are talking about truth. “Your truth” is definitely different from The Truth because the Truth is Jesus. Practically speaking, “your truth” is groundless, unspiritual, and insulting to God.
For further reading:
How Does Satan Distort Our Thoughts on God’s Truth?
Why Do False Teachings Stand Out More Than the Truth?
What Does the Bible Say about Worldly Happiness?
Why Did Jesus Say ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ in John 14:6?
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Glory Dy has been a content creator for more than 10 years. She lives in a quiet suburb with her family and four cats.
