There are many people today who are skeptical toward the notion of absolute truth. They say things like, “that’s true for you, but not for me.” This attitude and perspective is generally called relativism.
This attitude is not always inappropriate. There definitely are opinions which are relative to personal preferences and experiences. For example, someone may ask “what is the best movie of all time”. There would be almost as many opinions on this as there are people answering the question. Some might say Gladiator, others might say Casablanca. Each person may feel equally strong about their choice for Best Movie of All Time, but at the end of the day, everyone’s choice is a matter of personal preference and opinion.
But not all questions can be reduced to mere personal preference. For example, if I were to ask some friends what year Napoleon Bonaparte was born, there would likely be multiple answers given by friends who genuinely wanted to help. (As well as many blank stares.) However, whether or not any of my friends know the truth with certainty there was a year that Napoleon was born and there were many years that he was not born. There is truth. It is not merely a matter of preference.
The notion of relativism is apparent in virtually every area modern society, but is most pronounced and most tragic when it comes to matters of eternal significance. There are some questions which ultimately don’t really matter, and then there are other questions which we can’t afford to blow off; There are questions that we can’t afford to get wrong.
Questions like “Who is God?”, “Who was Jesus?”, “What is the meaning of life?” should be seriously investigated and considered. They have answers and these answers have huge implications into how we live our lives.
It’s interesting though, that while a relativistic view of truth is pronounced in our time, it is not an invention of the modern world. Over 2000 years ago it was the attitude of Pontius Pilate expressed in his conversation with Jesus, recorded in John 18:37-39 “Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
Like Pilate, many today scoff at the proposition of truth.
What about you? Have you embraced the truth in the person of Jesus? When some area of the truth of God’s Word challenges you do you blow it off? Or do you humbly receive it and change?