So what is truth, that it should have such gravity and such a central place in people’s lives? Truth is the aim of belief; falsity is a fault. People need the truth about the world to thrive. Truth is important. Believing what is not true is apt to spoil people’s plans and may even cost them their lives. Telling what is not true may result in legal and social penalties. Conversely, a dedicated pursuit of truth characterizes the good scientist, the good historian, and the good detective – ultimately, truth to ourselves and truth to power.
Sadly, the state of our society today has left us with deep afflictions. The majority of the people are reeling in pain, cheating, denials, dislocations, and harm. Everyone’s conscience has a big wound that only truth and positive actions can heal. Nonetheless, the country and its citizens have a lot of opportunities arising from the newness of the mind and a renewed hope if carefully and consciously considered.
So, as we reflect on the profound words of Thomas John Watson Jr, an American businessman, diplomat, Army Air Forces pilot, and philanthropist. Watson Jr, who remarked as follows: “If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.” it pays to stand for what you believe, as long as your belief is right.
Flowing from the above, some folks in overdrive trying to misinterpret the motives and intentions behind some of my articles, particularly the most recent “Fidelity to God, or Pulpit fidelity” erroneously concluded that the messages were deliberately targeted for a purpose. It’s the end times and we are in for a long ride. Therefore, I will like to share with us, one of the many feedbacks and reactions to the article:
“In the 16th century when the heresy of the Roman Catholic Catholic got to a climax with her desperate aggression for money and vanity spending in Rome which saw her tasking all provinces beyond what they could bear in the strangely amended name and character of the Living God, and Martin Luther emerged as a strong voice from Germany with a few others from different parts of Europe against the teaching and practices of exploitation?
“This here in the post is what many converts of the church said about Luther and his fellow priests who stood their ground with the message of “Justification being a function of Faith than of the declared indulgences of the Papacy”. Remember the invented slogan “German money for German Church, Roman money for Roman church”, chanted against the Papacy’s messengers whose duty was to go round convincing people to give money using all tricks of orators and some skilled magicians? That was when it began.
“Luther’s followers began it. Have you taken time to look at the issues attracting these attacks against the church in recent times? Haven’t you noticed that people now have all the wrong reasons other than salvation for being in church The attacks today are not just against the Pentecostals alone but also strongly against the same catholic church.
“People begin to use their heads at some points in exploitations, especially when the exploiter becomes too confident and reckless even with declarations. These things are not planned conspiracies but natural reactions to situations of the present day. When a few people make wealth from some known form of exploitation unhindered, there is the tendency for many more humans to explore such paths and that is where more and more people begin to listen to critics of such wealth.
“That is what the church is experiencing today. The church should listen to the voice of Christ and keep the devil away. Most of these critics are present church-goers and many others are those who fell out with the church over these excesses but do not know any better way to go about their condemning what they believe is not right. The excesses have grown to a climax already. In all of this, it is the church that will bring an end to it.
“Blackmails and fighting back won’t end it. Look through history and know that this is true. This criticism will grow stronger until the church unconsciously joins to sanitize itself through natural selection, shifting sincere converts to more fairly focused assemblies leaving the scam centres to die natural death. But it must start from the fairly focussed speaking the truth from the scriptures against the center, pointing the lost to the light.” Obviously, the response unmasked the masquerade.
Similarly, Matthew Hassan Kukah the current bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto in his characteristics manner, and message of Christmas addressed specifically to President Bola Tinubu, captured the essence of ‘Truth In A Deceptive Society’ Bishop Kukah profoundly posited: “You must rid the public service of criminals who have turned the opportunity to serve into an ignoble enterprise. We concede that there are millions of decent men and women who genuinely wish to serve but are crushed by the deadweight of corrupt ogas at the top who use corruption as their oxygen!”
Remarkably, this is the kind of admonition that is fit for purpose, signposts the renewal of the mind and timely, not the usual messages centered around materialistic issues.
In conclusion, permit me to share with us the golden words of Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. Pascal remarked as follows: “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” Therefore, as we are about to log into 2024, the era of doing things with the right mindset, we need to be in alignment with the TRUTH.
Richard Odusanya
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