“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Hatred of truth is rapidly spreading around America and other countries with no sign of letting up any time soon. This rise of hated for truth in our country and others has been and continues to be fueled by the mainstream news media, Hollywood celebrities, mass-market magazines, entertainers, politicians, social media influencers, and even some churches that have an intent to deceive and manipulate people.
But it goes even deeper than that…
People who hate the truth do so because they hate God. They love themselves more than they love God and others. People who hate the truth want to be little “gods” themselves.
They want to do what they want, when they want, and to do it without restraint. When it comes to God’s laws and morality, many people want to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. They refuse to believe that God has authority over their lives. God established His commandments, order, and authority for our lives to protect us… not to harm us.
But sadly, belief in absolute truth has come to be seen by many as the ultimate sin of intolerance. In their minds, if there is no absolute truth, that means there is no absolute standard of right and wrong. Why? Because they do not want to be accountable to anyone, much less God, for their actions.
Not only do men not want the truth, but they will also hate anyone who attempts to tell them the truth. Truth is hate to those who hate the truth. When people come in contact with the truth, they have only two choices… to believe it or not. Their contempt for truth is rooted in the demand for change by the truth. That is why in this day and age, many are trying to do away with the truth under the pretext that everybody has their own truth; all truths are the same, and everything goes. Unfortunately, this is flawed thinking.
Hatred of truth has caused and continues to cause much suffering in our world… past and present times included. We are warned over and over again in the Bible about how hatred and bitterness can destroy us. Hate is like a poison that eats one up from the inside out. It can suck the joy out of life, poison one’s soul, make people physically or emotionally sick, and pollute relationships with family, friends, and others.
Hating the truth long enough can cause one’s conscience to become misinformed and their heart to be hardened. Truth haters will then continue believing lies as a matter of choice. But eventually, God will send them ‘strong delusion’ to ensure they will continue believing the lies that condemn them.
Like hardening of the arteries is a physical illness, hardening of the heart is a spiritual sickness. Consider the case of Pharaoh found in the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account of the Jew's exodus from slavery in Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart toward the true God because he thought himself a god. As a result of his willful unbelief, God hardened his heart, sending him a deluding influence so that he would not believe what was true despite the evidence of the ten plagues. The same is true today (truth does not change). God will and does harden a person’s heart by sending them a strong delusion so that they believe the lies of Satan, which will condemn them. This is not my opinion; it is scriptural…
“10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 NASB)
People who have exchanged the truth for lies do so because they are self-seeking. They do not want to be subject to the truth, rules, or laws and will resist any efforts to change their minds. They want no restraints on their behavior. For many, their mantra is “do what thou wilt”. They don’t want to hear that there is a God to whom one day they will be held accountable for their actions. Instead, they worship at the altar of narcissistic self-love.