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The Two Sides of Truth
Jeremiah 38:4
"Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt."
Being optimistic is certainly a good quality to have, but optimism without reality will hurt. In the verse above, the princes were upset with Jeremiah because his sermons were not optimistic about the outlook of the city of Jerusalem. He prophesied that the king of Babylon would take the city, and that every inhabitant of the city would be killed or taken as captives to Babylon. The princes thought that his sermons should be uplifting so as to strengthen the hands of the people and not hurt them. The problem was that if Jeremiah had preached an optimistic sermon, then truth would not have been proclaimed for there is a negative side of truth as well. When optimism forsakes truth, then optimism is more hurtful than reality.
In these current days, you can see similarities between the people of Jeremiah's day and the people of our day. It seems as if people are looking for feel good sermons more than they seek sermons of truth. In fact, when you have a preacher who proclaims both sides of truth, then you will find that many people think he is being negative. Certainly I am for helping people, and certainly I am for being optimistic, but truth also has a negative side that must be proclaimed. Truth must be proclaimed, and if the reality of truth seems to be negative, then we should change our lifestyle to match the message of truth.
Be careful about always looking for a preacher who only preaches the optimistic side of truth. When looking for a preacher, you should want a preacher who preaches both sides of truth, even if the side of truth is not optimistic. When you hear a true man of God preach, there will be times when his message is going to seem very negative, but preachers have to be negative in order to preach both sides of truth. For instance, preaching on the judgment of God is not very optimistic, but the judgment of God is truth. If a person commits sin, they will face God's judgment. If a nation continues in sin, it will face God's judgment. Though this may not be optimistic, this is truth and this is reality. If a preacher avoids preaching the negative side of truth, then his optimism will become hurtful because it does not warn people of the wages of sin.
When a preacher's negative sermon seems to be directed at your life, then don't get upset like the princes did at Jeremiah. Instead of getting upset at the preacher, you need to change that area of your life so you can enjoy the optimistic side of truth. You can get upset and go look for another preacher who makes you feel good, but that won't change the truth about your condition. If a person has cancer and doesn't like what a doctor tells them, then they can look for another doctor who tells them their fine, but that doesn't take the cancer away. Likewise, you can avoid the negative side of truth to listen to optimism, but that still won't change your condition and the impending judgment which is to come.
Remember, there are two sides to truth. There is an optimistic side of truth which talks of God's blessings when we do right, but there is also a negative side to truth that tells of sin's wage when we do wrong. Don't avoid the negative side of truth, but remember that both sides of truth are important for a healthy Christian life.