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The perception of truth. 

People can only dream that money grew on trees, but in real life, God never created a money tree. Truth like everything else we desire comes from the use of our time in the effort to make the right decisions. It’s not prudent to think you are always right, truth is not always found in a concentrated effort to discover it, but more often through the mistakes we ourselves make. Everyone wants to know the truth, but like money truth does not grow on trees. Truth is all around us and everyone has a version of his or her own.  Because there are so many people with so many varying truths it is hard to be certain of the truth. Truth appears to be the consensus of several people in agreement, but even then the majority of people can be wrong.  

Truth can not be avoided because truth is closely related to fact. Although you can manipulate fact to look like truth, truth will force itself through the cracks like grass in the sidewalk. On the other hand, truth is not like a proud father who displays his first-born child and wants everyone to know it. In contrast to the pride of the first time father, truth is consistently humble as he quietly works to make everything work together for the common good.

There are also times when the truth is difficult to find, like finding a cut diamond in a glass of ice water. In this example, the distinctive lines and shape of cut diamonds are lost within a maze of lines, similar colors and sized objects that distorts and confuses the eye. The simplest way to find the cut diamond in the jar of ice is to let the ice melt and strain the water. Generally speaking, the simplest ways to find the truth is don’t stop looking until you find it.

While truth does not grow on trees, truth revolves around the tree’s life and its growth cycle. The tree will drop its leaves when it doesn’t rain, the leaves turn color with the lack of sunlight and the same tree will sway in the wind.  We know these facts are true, because we have observed these events occur every year of our lives.

Another fact found in trees revolves around the yearly seasons that affects every day of our lives. In the spring we eagerly wait for the leaves to bud and leaf. When the tree displays its leaves you know summer is near and you can go outside to enjoy the warmer temperatures. Then as the temperatures rise, you seek the shade of the trees for relief from the sun’s heat. when summer ends and fall comes, you can expect to rake the leaves into piles and burn them. However, when the tree is cut down there in the rings of the trunk is a record of its life.

All of us have some truth, but no man has the entire truth. Truth is universal for everyone and is impartial to those who know truth as well as to those who don’t. Truth doesn’t take a vacation nor does it sleep. However, truth is never around when you seem to need it. If you knew the truth before hand you wouldn’t be in the trouble you’re in right now. What is obvious is that men prefer to do things their way even when they know it will mean their own death.

  Truth is all around us and is found in everything we take for granted, but to see the truth we have to fine-tune your eyes and mind to observe it.  In my father’s time the television had a manual switch to select the channel you wanted to hear. Today, these devices automatically, at the push of a button to select each channel available to you.  Times may change how things are done, but the truth remains the same. The method of selecting the channel you want to hear today is done with a remote control. However, you still have to make the effort to focus your eyes and ears on a specific truth to understand how things work.

Everyone builds a treasure chest to retire on not realize that they can’t take it with them when they die. However you can build up a treasure that will be waiting for you in heaven where no thief or depreciation is found. In the world one person sees the glass half-empty and another half full. One person lives to eat and another person eats to live. The world wants you to conform to what is right in its eye, but the truth varies from one person to the next and that may be the reason there is so much chaos in the world.

The bible tells us that you can see with the eye and never take to heart what you see and you have ears to hear, but not understand what you hear.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.  For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Matthew 13:14-17

There is no question that you can see or hear, but is everything you see and hear really seen or heard? For example, people tell jokes that were not funny because you never got the punch line. What is also important is that you didn’t take time to think about all the information that passed through your eyes and ears?  What you see and hear can be tuned out, like living near an airport. The noise of landing and takeoffs may keep you awake for the first week, but as soon as you have grown accustomed to the noise, you no longer pay attention to the noise. In the same way you can see the same things so much that whatever changes needs to be pointed out to you.  

The human being is a creature of habit and our minds can become hardened with continual exposure to things that never seem to change. For example, we drive past our neighbor’s house and the only thing we notice is what is out of place. The farmer on the other hand, looks at the fields as he passes to see how and what was planted. As the growing cycle continues, he watches the same fields to observe its growth and compares those fields to his own. The farmer’s purpose is to learn what he can do that will make his crop grow and produce a better return for his work.

On the other hand, the garbage man may look at the field’s he drives by, but his eyes are attentive to the curb where the garbage is placed for pickup.  Then the he must be sure his hand is not between the hopper and the can he empties. For the most part, men and women are only interested in the truth when the truth directly influences their life or when they understand that they can be hurt if they don’t pay attention to what they are doing.

You may see a bird in her nest, but the person on the other side of the tree may not see the bird because a number of branches are in the way. Between the two of you the only thing that you can be certain of is that both of you saw the tree. Your perception of the truth depends more on where you are, when you were there and how long you took to look for it.

People in Los Angeles have to stop everything they are doing to focus on the smog before they can see it. While they may make fun of the smog they take it for granted and ignore it. Again you may pass your neighbor’s house and not see the truck he has owned ever since you known him. Unfortunately weeks may go by before you notice the truck is no longer there because your mind was too busy with other things. It’s not that you didn’t see everything around you, but the life around you did not affect your current circumstances and mindset.

Instead you are concerned with the cares of your life. On the way to work you are thinking about your reports to make sure you filled in all the dotted lines. On the way to work you still have to dodge the maniac behind the oncoming car to arrive safely at work. Let’s not forget that your mind may be focused on Saturday night when the most important game of your life is airing on channel eight. Clearly your mind is not always focused on processing the information you eyes and ears have make you aware of, unless it pertains to the Saturday night game that you must see and hear. Then you pay attention and can’t wait tell everyone all about that Saturday night game. We just don’t place an intense focus on the mundane things as we do with the things that are important to you.  

 Life is too important to allow the circumstances of your life to rule what goes through your mind. Roses serve as an example of the beautiful things we often neglect. To understand the importance of the rose you have to stop to smell the roses. On the other hand a bed of roses though they are soft and fragrant is too uncomfortable to sleep on because of the thorns that pierce your skin.  The things you don’t see is more often what really hurts.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." Mark 4:23

Human eyes and ears are focused on the thing men and women crave for rather than on what life really has to offer. More than anything, the eye of men is focused on the things they can brag about or provide a comfortable life of ease.  Men and women want to be important and somehow be able to influence the lives of other people. However do they want to consider what they have done in the past affects what they can do in the future. The average person does not want to stop to smell the roses or take the time to examine their own life to know where they are going.   Regardless of your position in life everyone is going to face his creator who will determine where you will spend eternity.  

"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you Mark 4:24.

The bible tells us to consider what you hear be cause it presents a remarkable picture of Newton’s law of motion having an equal and opposite reaction.  Jesus went on to say, the measure you use establishes what would be measured to you.  Jesus spoke of a number of things you can do that will affect how other people respond to you,

Do to others as you would have them do to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:31-38

The average person does not take time to hear and when they do, they only seek enough to satisfy their immediate needs. Jesus said be careful to consider what you hear. You will never know when you will need that information so it's prudent to tune your ears to listen and weigh the pros and con’s of everything you hear. Your mind has to weigh the facts to see how this information fits within the whole picture. For you to accept this information, it has to be compatible with the rest of the knowledge you accept as truth?    

Men and women are more apt to do things they believe will cause the results they want. If no one can expect achieving their goals in one manner they won’t plan to do things that way. It's obvious that men want to know how to do things right, but it’s through the truth that you learn how things work and why things are done in a specific manner.

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.  Proverbs  4:20-22

The words of a father speak of the wisdom that he has accumulated and experienced during his lifetime.  They have been tried, been found to be true and still feasible for your life today. Every father wants to see his children have a better life than own. Advice from anyone else needs to be compared to their character and their success in life. Would you accept financial advice from someone that is constantly asking you for money? Would you ask someone to write a speech that uses profanity without regards to who hears it? Ultimately satisfactory advice always comes from a person you know has your best interest in mind.

Some people think of them self to be superior to other people, races, cultures and beliefs.  Some well-known people of distinction sink to a level of depravity well below the acceptable level of those who adore them. Other people use deceitful methods to obtain their goals and justify what they have done to other people. Then again greedy people don’t care as long as the money keeps rolling in and others say it's all right as long as you don’t get caught. With a self seeking and corrupt conscience they live their lives not caring about their fellow man and as they see fit completely unrestrained. Eventually each of these people will wonder what happened to them as they reap devastation by the deeds they have done to their fellow man.

Its time to smell the roses of your life. Stop what you are doing and take a good long look at your life and face the facts about how you live. What is your perception of the truth? What priorities do you have and what are you training your children to become? For most people their perception of the truth is their code of conduct that takes them through life with their version of success. Your desires set your priorities to what comes first in your life. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that there are many perceptions of truth on life as there are persons. Within all this confusion your perception of truth takes on a life of its own.

Within the things you take for granted, truth is embedded in everything God created. No matter what your perception of truth pertaining to this life, God is going to judge your life according to his truth. God is the father of all humanity. He has your best interest in mind and the well being of all of his children in this age and the one to come. The truth about your life will be weighed by the deeds you created. Deeds become public record in God’s hand pertaining to the character you possess.  Your deeds contain an irrefutable truth used to judge the good and evil of your life.

To have an accurate perception of truth you will have to search for it diligently. Life is very deceptive due to the corruption of the world. Truth is found in the cracks of life’s sidewalk and within the consequences of the decisions made by man.

The effort you make in this lifetime to know the truth will change the way you live. Knowing the truth allows you to control the consequences for the decisions you make in life.

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Josh 24:15

 

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