What is truth?

 This was the question Pilate asked Jesus as He was being questioned by Pilate. As a lifelong politician Pilate struggled to recognize truth when he heard it. I would imagine many struggle with the same problem today.

Last week we visited our son and his family in Texas. One of the things I immediately noticed at many of the places we went was a sign near the cash register stating that due to a national coin shortage they were requesting that people pay with other methods, of course, meaning by debit or credit card. Such signs were fairly common during the pandemic when it first hit, but I had not seem many of them since. One place refused to accept cash claiming it was company policy. At the airport my wife was going to buy a bag of candy to take on the plane but left when the store required a credit or debit card before allowing her to enter the store. 

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting tired of being lied to every single day. There is no national coin shortage! If you doubt that, go to the webpage of The Federal Reserve which states that there is an adequate supply of coins in the economy. Yes, there was a disruption in the flow of coins during the 2020 pandemic due to businesses and banks closing, but this is a year later. To address that disruption, in 2020 14.8 billion coins were minted, a 24% increase over the number of coins minted in 2019. These are the facts, and a computer printed sheet of paper claiming a national coin shortage isn't going to change that.

Some argue that avoiding the use of cash is necessary because of Covid. People don't want to handle dirty money that might be infected with disease. Well, the fact is that money has always been dirty, and nobody was that concerned about that before. And, how is using a plastic card more sanitary? In many cases, you are handing the card to the cashier, and even when you are putting the card into the machine yourself, you are then required to punch in your access number on the same keys that countless other people have used just before you. You are handing your merchandise to the cashier who is touching it before placing it in a bag that other people have touched. Plus, let's not forget the numerous people who shipped your purchase to the store, those who removed it from the boxes and stocked the shelves with the items you purchased. Anyone with the ability to think for themselves will recognize that using plastic is not more sanitary than using cash. So, what is really going on?

Some people believe that this is an attempt to move us towards a cashless society in order that Revelation 13:17 might be fulfilled. Others think it is just another attempt to manipulate the public to give the government more control over our daily lives. I'm not going to speculate on what the purpose of claiming a national coin shortage is. I'm just tired of being lied to every single day by people who should be concerned about the welfare of our nation and its people.

Even though Pilate questioned truth, he seemed to recognize it in Jesus because as soon as he asked the question he went to the public and claimed he found no fault in Him. The church needs to follow the example of our Lord. In a time when many of us cannot trust our government leaders, the media, or businesses to tell us the truth, the church must be the one place that stands upon the eternal truths of Scripture. Many will not like to hear the truth because 2 Thessalonians 2: 11 tells us that they will believe the lie and reject the truth. Paul further told Timothy that the time would come when people "according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned to fables." (2 Timothy 4: 3-4)

As we plan our preaching for 2022 let's determine to preach the truth of God's Word.