Any time you base your values, beliefs, and decisions on feelings, you are no longer basing them on the truth. You want the truth. And yet, despite truth's importance in so many ways, we are living in a day when truth is dying all around us. Everything has been left to be defined by emotions, manipulation, propagandas, which las led to cataclysmic confusion and chaos in myriad realms. For starters, we are witnessing psychological chaos all around us. People's mental trajectory has gone astray because truth no longer serves as a baseline for the mind.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Scripture calls this ever learning yet never coming to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). In addition to the mayhem in psychology, science, and entertainment, though, is the greatest cause of confusion in our land today: the existence of spiritual chaos. Without a foundation of truth, character and values carry as much weight and consistency as the wind. Truth is the foundation of character. And truth has a way of bringing clarity to our understanding. Far too many believers question whwether truth exists. The concept of truth has become one for debate in and of itself.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Some lean toward rationalism, which means that truth is what a person can intellectually perceive or learn. For rationalists, truth is that which your mind can grab in such a way that it makes sense to you. Other people tend toward pragmatism. Pragmatism defines truth more in line with what works. If something works at that point in time, then it must be true for that point in time. Still others lean toward world views in which truth is subjective; it's more about how you feel or what you choose to believe.  Truth becomes nothing more than "my truth," your truth," "his truth," or "her truth."  Relativism and postmodernism call truth according to the way reality is viewed by each person (relativism), or even how each person would prefer to view it (postmodernism).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Essentially, we are living in a world of isms, each seeking to define truth according to its own theories, goals, and agendas. But Jesus didn't mince words when He said in verse 37, "And for this I have come into the world. to testify to the truth."  Jesus didn't hold truth up for debate. Jesus told Pilate, as well as anyone else who has an ear to hear Him, that He is the one who testifies to the truth. Truth can be defined as an absolute standard by which reality is measured. Jesus tells us not only that truth exists but also that it is a powerful force when He states in John 8:32, "And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Truth is not a made-up concept. Truth exists. Jesus testifies to its existence and says that you and I can come to know truth for ourselves. This absolute and objective standard by which reality is measured sits outside of you and me. Because of that, truth transends emotions. How you feel does not determine whether something is true.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Regardless of how you feel about something that is true, you need to keep in mind that your feelings don't determine the truth. Our society is not as opposed to truth as many may make it out to be. Nearly all of us operate on a foundation of truth in many sectors of our lives. Yet when it comes to our own identity and personal character qualities as human beings, that's where truth seems to be tossed straight out the window. What we've got today are people bouncing around until they find somebody who will tell them what they want to hear. You must decide where you stand on the matter of truth. You must decide if you are going to fall sway to a culture that allows each person to do what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25), or if you are going to recognize that there is an objective standard by which truth has been established.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Contaminated and sinful flesh cannot be relied upon to establish or maintain truth. Sinfulness, distorts the truth. Trust rests in the pure perfection of the Creator himself. Another reason why humanity cannot serve as our own standard for truth is because we are finite. We are limited. We don't know all things about all things. This is why we learn. This is why we study. This is why we change our minds as we discover information. What's more, that which we learn from isn't always rooted in truth. Sometimes we find out later on our journey that what we were learning and believing to be true were lies, misinformation, or propaganda.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        By the way, this isn't anything new. This stems from what is known as "doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). It's far easier to swallow a lie that's coated in truth. The devil knows that, which is why you'll often find the truth mixed in with lies when he sets out to deceive (Genesis 3:1-6; Mathew 4:1-11).  We live in a land of duplicity that has increasingly drifted away from a Judeo-Christian ethic, ultimately washing ashore onto a liar's paradise. The devil is deceitful, so the culture is contaminated. If you want to discover absolute truth from which kingdom values arise, it must come from an absolute Source.  Perfect truth comes only out of a perfect Source. Everything else is guesswork. And there is only one perfect Source in the universe God.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         And this is why many political movements such as socialism, communism, and Marxism seek to keep religion either eradicated or marginalized. That way they don't have to deal with an absolute. They don't have to deal with God. Leaders in those systems want government to be the arbiter of truth. Even in our own nation, as we shift away from a Judeo-Christian world view, there has been an increase attack on the freedom of religion. This is because without God, there is no truth. When you, or anyone you know, disagree with God, then you (or they) are wrong. It is impossible for God to be wrong. God is truth. There are two answers to every question--God's answer and everybody else's. And when everybody else disagrees with God, then everybody else is wrong.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In addition, the Bible calls the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). The Holy Spirit transfers the truth of God to us so that we can know the way to go and the decisions to make. He serves as our Teacher, Instructor, and Guide. God is truth. Jesus is truth. The Holy Spirit is truth. Truth is never sourced in this world order. Truth is always sourced in God alone. It comes from another realm because He comes from another realm. Truth sits outside of time and space. It also sits outside of our five senses. Truth cannot be determined in human terms because its Originator and Author is not human. That is why the overarching question you should be asking yourself on every subject you study or learn about is this: What has God said on the matter?  If you ask that on the front end instead of the back, you will save yourself a lot of time and consequences.