Editorial May 8, 2017 Issue

Speaking of Truth as power

Kim Crooks Korinek

There was a game my cousins, brothers, and I used to play in a round swimming pool. We would all walk around in a circle until the water’s currents were so strong that we could lift up our feet and then be carried by the current. But, if we wanted to stop the current, we would plant our feet firmly on the bottom of the pool. Swimming against the currents never worked, as we’d usually quickly tire or get swept away, but planting our feet firmly always did the trick, and the water would become still.

I’ve begun to realize what a profound analogy that is of demonstrating Truth as power. But more on that later.

Power means the ability to produce an effect. It can also mean potency, influence, or energy. And truth in human affairs can represent our highest understanding of honesty, justice, and purity. Speaking the truth to power has been a way to challenge social wrongs and to help establish justice. However, here’s an additional point to consider: If evil, malice, hate, or injustice is accepted as having any real power at all, reforms won’t go far enough to transform how we live, or how we can bring about healing. But Christ Jesus gave us a way to understand power and Truth in a way that disarms evil and continues to transform and heal today.

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Bible Lens—May 8–14, 2017