July 13, 2022

Proverbs 23: 23 (NIV)

Buy the truth and do not sell it.

Truth isn’t decided by a majority vote or by power politics. It isn’t decided by the people with the biggest bank accounts, or who talk the loudest, or who use language most creatively. Truth is decided by God.*

Buy low, sell high. Classic advice for those who deal in commodities. Solomon’s recommendation for handling truth puts it in a different category from other valuable products. He doesn’t suggest that we shop around for a bargain – truth is worth whatever it costs. Once we have it, we should never trade it for anything else – no matter how high its value goes up. So . . . truth has a price; we should pay the price; and we should not sell it. What are we to do with it then? Again we find that truth differs from other valuable commodities. We can’t sell it for a profit but if we share it, its value increases and we never have less than we started with.

In John 14: 6, Jesus declares that he is The Truth. He is that fixed point from which we measure the trueness of everything else. Compared to Shaquille O’Neal, I am short. Compared to Danny DeVito, I am tall. Which am I, tall or short? In determining if a person is tall or short, you must establish a standard of height. Likewise, everything must be held up to Jesus as the standard for truth.

The most important truth about Jesus Christ is his saving truth. In the same verse in which he proclaims that he is the truth, Jesus also makes it clear that he is the only way to the Father. Buy that truth, no matter what it costs. Never sell it, no matter how tempting the offer. Share it and it will still be yours.

It would be the height of egotism to insist that you alone are the pathway to God – unless it happens to be true.*