Article By: Iyo_Embong

The other night after dinner, Justin asked me this simple question: “Dad what is the difference between all religions, denominations, their teachings and etc.?” Last night Aliah also asked me another simplequestion: “Dad what do you think about all religion?” I tried to answer it as much as I could, but the reality is…there are many things that we don’t really know or cannot explain and pretending to know all the answers is a wisdom of a fool. I could have been bias by making one sided remarks, but at the end I kept quite as I thought about Deuteronomy 29:29 that says…“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”

It’s so easy to believe something because it is offered to us, and even easier to justify if it comes from our parents, someone we respect or believe to be an authority. But does everything we receive in this way always ring true? And, perhaps more importantly, is truth for one person the same as truth for another? Indeed, if we define truth as a holistic, all encompassing reality, our unique experience and perspective is required to complete any understanding.

It is not possible for two opposites to exist at the same place at the same time: truth and untruth, happiness and sorrow, lightness and darkness. Truth means truth. If even a grain of falsehood exists within truth then it is no longer truth. If I lie to protect the truth, then I have made that truth into untruth. If I become angry in the name of love, then that cannot be love. So if I am experiencing the explosion of anger, then it is not possible for love to be present.

What is Truth? Truth is that which will not change. Truth will always remain truth. If it changes over time or in situations then that cannot be truth. When there is untruth mixed in the truth then the truth within that also gets polluted. Then it can no longer be seen as the truth.

While others attempt to ascertain truth from a subjective standpoint, nothing could be further from it. Just as we know that in science the results are affected by the observer, in life, our experience is central to our truth. In practical terms, we see this all the time – until one experiences something for themselves can they truly understand it, or even validate it – here we see truth as a process, a verb…understanding…that requires our individual participation; not simply as a set of rules or laws that are independent from us.

Think back to your youth, or imagine a young child excited by the coupling of an experience with a spontaneous realization. It is fundamental to our cause, to live most skilfully, that we keep our minds and eyes open and to continue to experience the truth of our lives unfolding in this way.

Consequently, those who would rather choose to heed the word and truths of others will eventually lose their capacity to make their own discoveries and chose their own path. It is a viscous cycle downward and many of us have been there. More often than not, finding truth is relinquished due to not wanting to be bothered or even sheer laziness. We also suffer immensely from corrupt leadership. In this environment, hard questions are rarely asked and those who venture out toward self-discovery are often ridiculed. We live in a society where the work involved to grow is competing with quick fixes and indulgences that maintain the trance. It is not just in our youth that we have a penchant for traveling down a path of collective ignorance. Even as we age, this pattern keeps us blissfully sedate and though we may stir from time to time, we are regularly reminded that we do not possess the qualifications to figure this out for ourselves. Hence, we tend to depend on experts for everything and seek answers from outside.

It is unskilful to listen and believe the truths of others without pursuing and seeking out the truth for yourself. It’s like living as a blind man when you have the precious gift of sight. Our individual journey in life rests on the premise that we will guide and steer ourselves, and have the ability to choose which path and how fast we go. It’s simply a personal choice, and knowing and practicing that is essential if we wish to move forward.

Anything done with the heart, no matter how small or how difficult, is so fulfilling and meaningful. On the other hand, anything done for show or just for compliance, no matter how grand, is empty and meaningless. More than ever, let us put back and keep putting back the heart in whatever we do; otherwise, we will all end up cold, impersonal, uncaring, disinterested, and eventually disgruntled, unhappy, bored, and empty. Let us learn that there are things in life that cannot be and should not be controlled, managed, or manipulated. All too often we hide a lot of our inconsistencies, insecurities, and even guilt behind our lip service and well-managed activities.

Naturally, we hold on to what is visible, quantifiable, and controllable. There are many things we cannot explain and understand in this life. This is where belief and faith come in, and maybe that is all that the Lord asks of us many times as we go through life. As it were, faith is an invitation to go beyond what is quantifiable and seen to that which is unknown and unseen. Faith is by no means a downgrade. It raises us up, and it helps us “see” more clearly, widely, deeply.

We have well-meaning people around us, but the problem with them is that they mean well but they can be mean, very mean. There are a lot of people who are judgmental, self-righteous, and spiritually proud who like to think they’ve got it all worked out. Are you one of them?

Article By: Iyo_Embong