Ivana Santoso “So, what’s more important; the truth or feelings?” my homeroom teacher asked as a news report came up on the big screen titled: “I’ve gone back to being a child”: Husband and father-of-seven, 52, leaves his wife and kids to live as a transgender six-year-old girl named Stefonknee. Going around the room, I heard a lot of different answers. Some said that the truth was more important; this man is biologically a 52-year-old male. But, others questioned this view saying, “it’s his right for him to define what he is”. Others said that his feelings were more important. There were many different variations of answers from different people.
But the answer that stood out the most was one from a boy that said it was right for him to change his gender but not his age. And the interesting thing was that most of the people in my class agreed with his answer. I started to question this answer. What’s the difference between him changing his age and changing his gender?. If feelings are more important, there wouldn’t be a reason why he would not be allowed to change his age, right? But if the truth is more important, then he is a 52-year-old male.
So, what is the truth? In this corrupted world, there is no longer such a thing as absolute truth. In this world, each person has their own definition of what is right. The ‘truth’ in this world is now based on opinions and feelings.
But in fact, there is such a thing as absolute truth. People in this world choose to ignore it. There is only one absolute truth – Jesus and His words. It says in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the truth, and everyone that decides to ignore Him is making up their own truth.
What do I mean by people ‘making up their own truth’? Every opinion will have a base truth. People’s views are always based on something, whether it be religion or their own understanding. But there is always one and only one absolute truth.
Just like math, there are so many different ways to solve one equation or one problem. However, there is always a set answer in the end – there is no answer in between. Your answer will be either right or wrong. Five plus five will always be ten. It cannot be a three or a seven.
Just imagine how chaotic a math class would be if we took a relative view of truth. Everyone would get different answers, and even if it were wrong, people would just say, “this is my opinion and you are not allowed to judge it”. That way, everyone would get 100% on their tests.
Yes, it does seem like heaven to get everything right. But, imagine what would happen in the future if we did maths with relative truth. The planes would not be able to fly because of the wrong calculations. Buildings would not be able to stand because of all the wrong calculations, and things would crumble into chaos, and nothing would ever work anymore. That is what happens if we ignore the truth – things will start to fall apart. There would no longer be any set rules, only chaos.
There is this one example that I really like. God designed our body so that our head represents logic, our heart represents our emotions, and our stomach represents our desires. Our logic must control our emotions, and our emotions must control our desires. But most importantly, who controls our logic? We cannot depend on our own limited understanding; we need to depend on God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”.
So, in your life, what is more important, feelings or the truth? If you prioritise feelings over the truth, you will never understand what it means to have a grounded life where everything is in place and where things are not so confusing. To be honest, I never really understood my own feelings, and so I used to follow my feelings around. When I was upset, I would be really upset, and when I was happy, I would be really happy. Sometimes, I still get confused about my feelings. So really, I can say that feelings are just an unstable thing for myself and most of the people out there. We really can’t depend on them.
We all need to learn to make the truth the priority in our lives. Don’t believe in just any made-up truth (those really are not truth), but trust in the absolute truth, which is Jesus Christ. Sometimes, the truth can be hard and tough, and it seems like following our feelings is the easier path to take. But in reality, our feelings will lead to chaos if we do not learn to control them properly. In the end, even if it hurts, the truth will always be the truth.