A Christian Response to the world of Post Truth.

A Short reflection on Jude 17–25

We live in a world where feelings rule over facts. News editors and politicians are no longer concerned about the truth, what matters more is the emotion. That is why we have journalists and politicians shouting in the newsrooms and poll campaigns, trying to appeal to the emotions of the hearers instead of presenting the objective facts. They don’t care if their points make sense as long as they touch the heart.

If it feels right, then it must be right, that’s the new mantra.

We see Jude warning us about something similar. In verses 17–25, he follows up his previous warning of false teaching with another warning about “scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

Scoffers are those who mock. In this context, he is talking about those who mock the Christian faith. In today’s world, there is no dearth of “scoffers”, these are the ones who look down upon the Christian faith as myth and baseless. We live in a world where faith is seen as a sign of weakness and bias. Scoffers don’t waste a moment in ridiculing faith, we all have faced it sometime or the other.

Jude describes them as divisive as their arguments tend to divide the Christian people. Take for example the issue of homosexuality. Modern-day scoffers use it to divide us. We are often left confused and in doubt. They harp about natural instincts and feelings, this is exactly how Jude describes them. Surely, they do not have the Spirit, he adds further. How can he make such a claim? He looks at the fruit: their tendency to break or divide God’s people and their focus on self-feelings instead of God.

What about our fruits do they reflect Christ or our own wretchedness?

Jude is very clear in describing our response. “Build yourselves”, he says. This building up is in terms of faith. We need to grow in understanding our faith. Start with the Bible. The more we study the Bible, the better we understand our faith.

The next step involves living out this faith. This is where we struggle, Jude reminds us that we are not called to attempt it alone but with the Holy Spirit. If we are in Christ then the Holy Spirit is building us up to live Christlike. Let us depend on the Holy Spirit more than our own selves.

Are we growing in the faith?

By building ourselves, we will be able to help those around us as well. There are many in the world today who look around and recognise the mess. We are called to help them see Hope. There are many around us who are confused and in doubt, Jude encourages us to show mercy to them. God has called and involved us in his reconciling mission where he is reaching out to the lost. Remember lives are at stake.

In this mission, it’s important to stick to the basics. Remain in God’s love, this act of remaining happens when we recognise his real presence around us by faith and seek to spend time with him. This, in turn, enables us to know and obey his will. This is the key to save ourselves from the “trap of me” in this post-truth world.

Remember feelings betray but God remains faithful!

What do you think about life in this post-truth world? How has it affected the world around us and maybe us as well? I feel it's influenced in Christian life when we are overwhelmed by our feelings more than the truth of the Lord.