The plain truth.

The truth will never change.

I've come to realize recently that even though our cultures, our leaders, and our beliefs change, the truth stays constant. As I began to realize this, I started writing about it. This year I decided to write a speech on truth and use it to compete in the homeschool speech and debate league that I am a part of. Hopefully, you guys will get to read that speech once I have completed it. But as I was thinking about the truth, I began pondering one of my favorite movies, The Greatest Showman. In the song This Is Me sung by Keala Settle, the lyrics communicate a powerful and moving message. I turned the lyrics over and over inside my head as I was thinking about truth until I clearly saw what was bothering me. So I want to present my thoughts to you today on the plain truth. Just the plain old truth.

I said that truth never changes, but we do. And our taste for things changes as well. Once upon a time, the Bible was practically the only book American families owned and read. Now we have so many other forms of entertainment that many families don't read their Bible together but they'll watch a TV show together. Consider how many people watched and talked about The greatest Showman. $165 million in the US and more than $217 million abroad and that was just before January 2018. That's a lot of money that people are spending to see this movie. And when they watch it, the audience hears the song This Is Me and sings along with the lyrics,

"When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen

I make no apologies, this is me."

Inspiring isn't it? Those are powerful, motivating words. But haven't we heard them before? The messages in those lyrics have been conveyed to us for centuries. Think about the words “I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be, this is me.” Where in the Bible do we get the same message? 

Philippians says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” That’s bravery. Romans says that “we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God” We really are bruised, and yet Psalms tells us the we are “beautifully and wonderfully made.” We are who God meant us to be. That's just some of the lyrics that caught the attention of the world but communicated Biblical truths. And yet, the Greatest Showman got a lot more attention then the Bible does these days. Why? Well, the world doesn't want the plain truth anymore. So we had to decorate it. We added lights, choreography, a catchy tune, and Keala Settle. And boom, you have truth that people want to hear. Which sounds great right? At least people are hearing the truth. The problem is, we want it decorated and appealing. But that's not our job. We are just supposed to deliver the truth. 

You see, people didn't create truth. God did. His word is truth. And we are supposed to share it. It's like He is the chef and we are the waiter, our job is to deliver what He has prepared without messing it up. God will take care of the rest. As people begin to love decorated truth, they lose their appetite for the plain truth, even if it is good for them. We need to tell people the plain truth, they need to hear it. 

I remember hearing a story once about the magician Penn Jillette from the duo Penn and Teller. Penn is an atheist, but he made a video about a Christian who came up to him after one of his shows. This Christian handed Penn a Bible and had a conversation with him. Penn respected that. He's still an atheist, but he was touched by the fact that this man actually cared about him. He said, 

“How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”

Think about those words. To not tell someone the truth about where they are headed if they don't accept Jesus means that you truly want the worst for them......for eternity. Sure, the truth is plain. Sure, most people probably don't want to hear it. But unless you hate someone, you should tell them the truth.


We are brave, we are bruised, we are who we were meant to be. Not because a song says so. Rather, because God says so. There's more, we are also His messengers, His waiters. We need to deliver the truth that He has given us. No lights or music is needed. Just the plain truth.