Due Diligence
Dear friends,
“What is truth?” said Pontius Pilate, revealing in his conversation with Christ that he was a stranger to it. Or that he found it elusive, a puzzle. More likely that he was unconcerned by it, being as he was a person of power, who felt, by reason of this power to be able to dictate how things should be, and that, as far as he was concerned, his will was the truth for today. The absolute objective truth, as far as he was concerned was an irrelevance. Until, that is, Christ was brought before him and, in total powerlessness, claimed that there was Truth, and that people either “belonged” to it, or they did not. Whatever Pilate said, whatever his verdict, whatever he ordered, he either belonged to the truth, or he did not. The Truth has a power of its own, and we, humankind, either acknowledge it, and serve it, or we do not. Christ “came into the world to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). Readers of John’s gospel will remember the great “I am” sayings, which include “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6). Faced with the Truth, in person, Pilate chose to look away. John tells us that he “went outside”….”to consult.”
We live in a society where truth has been relativised. The men of power follow Pilate’s example, treating the truth as children treat plasticine until they are overthrown, or called to account. In flaccid democracies, we consult, hold enquiries, set up commissions, make plans, obfuscate, dissimulate. Universities used to be places where the Truth was earnestly sought, where wisdom was aspired to, and where experience counted for something. Some appear to have lost their way. Truth is not applied as a veneer. It is in the metal, in the grain, in the heart, or not at all. To use an analogy: if you were to ask me “Is Trevor a good plumber?” I would say, yes, that it was true that Trevor is a good plumber. You would rightly be able to infer from this that Trevor would not connect the hot water to the cold tap, and that his piping joints would not burst under pressure. It might also mean that Trevor has several relevant professional accreditations, and many years experience in the trade. My point is that there objectively is such a thing as a good plumber, and this is someone who knows his trade, and gets the job done well. And if a “good plumber” is a real thing, surely there can be a good driver, lawyer, dentist, botanist, programmer, clergy person, politician, professor and the like? By their fruits you will know them. It is time to stop lauding liars and feting fraudsters, wherever they may be.
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