"Put me in, coach!"

(Image courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org.)

Sitting the bench is never as fun as playing in the game.

Growing up, I was gifted with talent in athletics.  I sure was not a Michael Jordan, but I had earned the starting spot on all my teams growing up.  I started at a number of positions in baseball, ranging from catcher to pitcher to third base; in basketball I was one of the
tallest players, which naturally led me to take the starting role at center or forward; and in football I started at tight end and defensive end.  Eventually, I took my athletic talents to college, playing basketball for two years and football for four, and even trying out for the baseball team one spring.  But playing sports in college brought me to a place I had never been before: the bench.

When I started playing basketball in college, I was not as confident as my teammates.  In turn, I didn't play as well (or as much) as I had hoped, so my coach sat me on the bench.  The bench? I thought to myself.  Please, just put me in coach!  I don't want to sit out!  Even in the alumni game, which counted for nothing, I played a whopping thirty seconds, the least out of anybody on the entire team by far.  I wanted to quit; thankfully, my dad didn't let me and I learned lessons on the bench I had never learned before.

Today, there is Someone sitting the bench that never gets tired, never stops trying, never gives up, and is the best leader.  His name is Truth.  Truth has been benched by Society.  When Truth is taken out of the game, it's bad news for the entire team (the world).

One needs only to scroll through their Facebook updates - much less turn on the TV or browse the internet - to see the losing score when Truth is forced to sit out of the game.  Perversion is considered funny, sodomy is glorified, outward appearance is prioritized as number one, and everything even smelling of Truth is thrown out as garbage.

To a Christian, the glorification of falsehood and the benching of Truth is dark and daunting.  It seems as if the world is going crazy.  To the sinner (by the way, sinner's will sin - that's what they're best at!) it seems great.  No right, no wrong, no worries!

Here's the catch: someday, everyone will have to stand before Truth and recognize He has the final say (Romans 10:9-10).  Uh oh!  Did he just quote Truth?!  Yes, yes I did.  Truth's word is found in the authoritative Bible, the Word of God.

This is the great deception, that each person determines their own truth and that there is no absolute Truth.  How deserving of pity these people show themselves to be.  Living like this is fun for a time, but soon it gives way to heavy baggage and great regret.  That is because we all have a desire for Truth, no matter how much we want to argue against it.

Think about it like this: A boy refuses to tie his shoes because he claims he doesn't need to.  He trips and falls and scrapes up his knees.  Still, the boy refuses to acknowledge the need to tie his shoes.  In fact, he believes they are tied.  No one can tell me to tie my shoes, he thinks to himself.  Nevertheless, the boy trips and falls all his childhood because he refuses to see the reality that his shoes are not tied.

This is a ridiculous scenario, right?  Yet this is how many, many people are living today.  They refuse to acknowledge the reality they are living in.  They lie, cheat, steal, disobey their parents, sell drugs, do drugs, shoot people, get drunk, have sex with random people - all in the name of "I do what I want to do."  They are tripping over their own untied shoes.  They are refusing to hear the Voice of Truth telling them that they are only hurting themselves.

Ignoring reality does not make it go away.  Ignoring Truth does not make it go away, either.

Paul writes in II Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

How true the Apostle Paul was in writing this.  It was happening in his day, and it has only been progressively getting worse since.  Today, Society has told Truth to sit the bench.  Society (which, by the way, is made up of the beliefs shared by the majority) has said, "We want to do what we want.  Truth, shut up!  We don't want to recognize your authority anymore."  But the reality is that Truth still has authority, no matter how long Society ignores it.

In closing, the Apostle Paul does have encouragement for the Believers in Truth.  He tells us to not give up the fight for Truth: "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all duties of your ministry" (II Timothy 4:5).

Repent! O deceived generation!  Recognize the reality of Truth before it is too late!  Turn away from the shifting opinions and ever-changing thoughts of others and turn instead toward the love of the Father (John 3:16-17)!

Stay strong, Believers of Truth!  Do not give up the fight!  Overcome (Revelation 12:11)!

Check out a video made on this topic!

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair" (C.S. Lewis).