I am a lifelong learner seeking knowledge. I have to admit that I often struggle with truth. 

Today, it is so hard to find truth. There are sources that intentionally distort the truth.

In John’s Gospel, Pilate asked, “What is truth?”

I wonder that myself. When you watch a political debate, you hear the candidates spout many ‘truths’ about the other candidates. They spout ‘truths’ about themselves. 

Who is telling the truth?

We are then tasked with discovering the truth. Are we willing to take the time to evaluate, search, and discover what is actually true?

These thoughts have been stirring since I read an article. The following words caught my attention:

“As the Church, we are called to seek the truth, and to speak the truth, in the Church and in the world around us. To seek the truth by not interpreting everything through ideological and political lenses, jumping to conclusions that fit our biases, but by discerning with care, with prayer, with patient curiosity, and compassion, including listening to those beloved of God with whom we disagree. One of the most pernicious traits in our current day is the leap to conclusions, in any situation, before the facts and background are known. The battle to define the truth begins the moment a controversial event takes place.”

The followers of faith (people) are the church. As people (followers), it is our responsibility to discover the truth. 

Then the question becomes, whose truth is it?

Then we have to ask ourselves, can we share this truth?

Will it offend people?

Can we always share what we know as the truth?

Will it help people discover the right path?

We all should take time to discern the truth. Sadly, I believe our world lacks critical thinking skills. 

Then I wonder if I am jumping to a conclusion?

I think of this statement about “jumping to conclusions that fit our biases.”

In my career, I have had several jump to conclusions or form opinions about others.

At one time, I was willing to live my work life according to a ‘leader’ within the organization and his opinion of me.

Today, I face the same decision. With little knowledge, there was an assumption, an opinion was formed, and a statement was made. This statement was not a positive statement.

I ruminate on the statement. I reflect on the ‘jumping to conclusions’. Without the proper knowledge or the invested time to discover, one should never make an assumption.

Yes, this is also a reminder for myself. 

In a philosophy course, I remember a professor who separated the letters in assume. He was imparting his wisdom based on a student’s response to a question on our test.

Our assumptions often lead to to the wrong answer. The response may have misinformation, lack the full understanding of the situation, and sometimes they give a false description of an individual. 

So what sparked all these thoughts?

A dear friend and I have been having a discussion about an issue that brought to light. The concept of leadership.

Leadership is about choosing character over convenience. 

One’s integrity shouldn’t be determined by someone’s behavior especially if you jump to a conclusion based on a short visual observation. 

If we are a follow of Christ, we are called to serve as Christ served. To be an example of love and grace. We need to extend that love and grace and not make an assumption of someone without taking the time to get acquainted with them. It takes courage to speak to someone you don’t know. It takes courage to take the time to stop and discover.

I say it takes courage. Courage because we are not comfortable with interacting with someone who is different than us.

To be a faithful follower, we must take the steps to discover.

That requires us to humble ourselves. 

I think of Bob Chapman’s thought about leadership. I know this is not the exact statement he made, but we are not taught listening skills.

If you want to be heard, listening is the best way to approach that skill.

The loudest voice in the room only gets attention, not respect.

When we listen, we discover things about people we never knew. We must take the time to discover the skills and knowledge of those around us.

When we invest in our listening skills, we will also know when to celebrate others. We will hear them and acknowledge them in ways that they will always remember how they were treated.

Listening allows us to coach with grace and mentor others to help them improve their lives in the world.

Listening keeps us from jumping to conclusions. Listening allows us to discover the facts, research the situations, and gives us the ability to get some background.

There are too many times that decisions and opinions are made from short clips of life. Those short clips can destroy a person or situation. You should never, ever, make a determination about another based on a short clip, or several short clips or experiences.

If you want to be a leader, your role is not to destroy someone’s personality or life by making assumptions.

I spent a lifetime discovering this. What I know, servant leadership is being humble and generous with your thoughts, words, and actions.

When all this comes together, then maybe we will speak the truth.