Speaking Truth to Power

The political and scientific worlds have been a flutter over the last few weeks after damning revelations that a premiere institute trumpeting the dangers of global warming (or global climate change, as the new vogue term) has suppressed contrary evidence, altered figures, and engaged in a coordinated conspiracy to deceive and defraud the public. Even more disturbing than the lies, has been the response by many in the face of their disclosure. We continue to push forward with the “necessity” to enact legislation that was rooted and justified on the basis of this now-discredited theory. Apparently, the truth is out…but many people do not care to hear it. This situation reminds me very much of what faced Jeremiah.

In Jeremiah 6:11 the prophet says: …I am filled with the LORD’s fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in. It seems the prophet’s weariness can be explained by an all too common phenomenon: frustration with those who refuse to listen to his warnings. Consider this phrase in its immediate context:

Listen to this warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins, a land where no one lives. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Even the few who remain in Israel will be picked over again, as when a harvester checks each vine a second time to pick the grapes that were missed.

To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the LORD. They don’t want to listen at all. So now I am filled with the LORD’s fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in! -- Jeremiah 6:8-11

Finally, as a consequence of their unwillingness to listen to real problems, the people of Jerusalem were unwilling to explore real solutions.

From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds. They offer superficial treatments for My people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. – Jeremiah 6:13-14

The unwillingness to listen to truth is a ubiquitous human problem. As we each face unpalatable truths today: the state and relative severity of our ecological, military, national and individual economic, and spiritual crises, we would do well to learn from the ministry of Jeremiah. I do not believe that God has left us without reliable witnesses to “speak truth to power.” The real question is the same as it has always been: Is the power willing to listen to the truth?