A few years ago a singer in our country posted: “My truth is MY truth, & it’s mine to own. There is no right or wrong here, it simply just IS.” That is not such an uncommon view now for many people. This particular singer just put it into writing.
“Our” truth can have something to it if we’re simply sharing true things about our own experiences. In a sense no one has the exact same experiences or perspectives as another. But doesn’t the idea of “my truth” easily . . . . creep into “my way or the highway” or into a justification for anything anyone does?
This environment can bring some challenges to our mission of bringing the Word of God to those around us. Even if we care about a person and let them know the message of the Bible transcends any of our own thoughts and ideas, they may close themselves off immediately if a teaching doesn’t fit “their truth.”
That challenge is not as modern as it might seem. The prophet Amos was sent to preach against the king and against the whole nation of Israel. The king, Jeroboam, and his priest didn’t want to hear it. They dismissed Amos and told him to take his prophecies elsewhere.
Amos was not intimidated: 14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (Amos 7:14-15)
God gives us the right and authority to speak his truth, which is the only eternal and universal truth, and the truth that sets us free in Christ.