I believe in truth.
It sounds obvious, I know. What else would anyone believe in, but what is true?
These days, it seems like they would believe in a lot of things and not care much about the truth of the matter, as long as people’s beliefs work to their own advantage.
I was thinking about the value of truth as it relates to reality TV as the 50th season of the granddaddy of all the reality series, “Survivor,” is airing. A quarter-century ago, the show was a weird social experiment, one looking at what happens to people forced to work together and depend on one another for survival while also voting their tribemates out as they try to get a million-dollar prize that only one can win.
The show has changed over the years; instead of traveling to different remote areas of the world, it now stays in the same place, and filming seasons have been shortened. Clean water is now provided – not always a given in earlier seasons — and with a 26-day filming schedule, food is now something that sometimes can be won, but is not guaranteed.
Perhaps the biggest change, though, is that the players on “Survivor” and dozens of other reality competition shows go in with their eyes wide open about how they will have to behave. Switching alliances, lying and deceiving allies and rivals alike is part of the game. Each season now, there are assurances from players that they understand it’s not personal; everyone is playing the game, and being true to the goal of winning means having no loyalty to any other truth.
To be clear, I find “Survivor” entertaining, not least for the mirror it perhaps unintentionally holds up to American society. Who gets treated like a leader? Who gets discounted? Who is marked as untrustworthy, in a game where no one is trustworthy?
I became a reporter, way back when, because I wanted to find out what was going on and tell people about it. It sounds corny, but one of the things that attracted me to Northwestern University when I was applying to colleges was its motto, “Whatsoever things are true,” taken from Philippians 4:8.
Now, living in a country and a world where people don’t have a shared understanding of what has happened and what is happening, where people only see and hear news that reflects their existing worldviews, where U.S. government leaders have tried to school the last two popes on the meaning of church teaching, it seems like truth isn’t that common of a value anymore.
For me, it comes down to the truth we are all beloved by God. Yes, all. Even that person, or that group of people you don’t like or don’t understand. And because of that, we must treat everyone as our beloved brothers and sisters, whether we agree with them or not.
We must treat people with kindness, not cruelty. We must seek to help, not hurt. We must feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, welcome the stranger.
Do I fail sometimes? Or even often? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have to try. That’s the only way to put my faith in Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. To do otherwise is to follow the Father of Lies.