Truth is timeless. It is unchanging. It maintains its value through the always-evolving marketplace of ideas, like the gold standard in a world of paper currencies. Trends in human thought come and go, and philosophies rise and fall in popularity like fad diets, but truth is like a rock, never succumbing to the pressures of relativistic philosophies or changing “understandings.” It is what it is, and what it always has been. The Truth.
It also doesn’t need to wait another year for us to acknowledge it, either. Or figure it out, or agree upon it, or agree to teach it. Truth just needs to be discovered and immediately taught. This is why Christianity in the first century thrived and turned the world upside down–because people didn’t wait for their synagogues to adopt this new doctrine. They recognized the truth of this man named Jesus, and consequently, the errors of their Pharisaical Teachers. They chose Jesus in droves.
It’s important that we put our trust in truths that are firm and unchanging, and stand confidently in them, not “hiding them under a bushel” until next May Week. How exactly is basing one’s hope for the future of the church on the whims of changing May Week “judgments” different from Jehovah’s Witnesses basing theirs on the latest Watchtower dogma? How is it different from Mormons basing theirs on the latest teachings of their Prophet or their Apostles? How is it different than Catholics basing theirs on the latest papal decree?
In a world with precious few enduring truths, it only makes sense to build our hope on nothing less than Jesus. When our faith is in men, or in human institutions such as “the church” (as you understand it, at least) or “May Week” or your Teacher or Preacher or Evangelist, it will always come down like a house of cards at some point. Fallible men and women always fail eventually. Always. You can count on it as surely as death and taxes.
Can we agree that the latest May Week rulings, or the latest opinions of respected Preachers, Teachers and Evangelists, are at least fallible? And don’t these May Week rulings (or judgments, if you prefer), and counsel from respected Preachers, Teachers, and Evangelists, constitute the doctrines (teachings) of the church? So aren’t the doctrines of the church, then, fallible?
Let’s diagram it something like this:
HUMAN OPINIONS < JESUS
Or better yet:
JESUS > HUMAN OPINIONS
So why is there always such excitement in the air around May Week each year? Why, when people recognize that doctrines need to change, do their hopes and aspirations for that change revolve around the fallible human opinions expressed in May Week? Why do they revolve around having purportedly unofficial delegates discuss questions in an unofficial gathering (church council, anyone?) to send back revised unofficial doctrines to the home congregations to be unofficially adopted? Why not just unofficially start teaching the truth now, and let the chips fall where they may?
Why is it that if something didn’t get fixed this year in the church’s doctrine, we have to hope and pray that truth prevails next year? Shouldn’t truth prevail now? If not, why not? And if not now, when?
Don’t keep procrastinating truth, my friends. The time to accept, face and teach the truth is now. Stop letting the fallible opinions of men rule over your faith.
