Do you remember the old game called telephone? You’d line up a bunch of kids and give them a simple sentence, something like, “the monkey’s banana is yellow.” Then you’d have the kids verbally pass that message all the way to the end of the line. Of course, when it got to the other end of the line the message would be so absolutely convoluted, it in no way was factually connected to the message it began as. But the last few times I’ve watched the game played, I’ve focused not on the end product but the playing of the game. I watch the kids carefully to see what takes place. I see some translation mistakes made because of simple communication problems, what is said and what is heard misalign. I also see the message accidentally altered by others because they’re in a hurry, thinking speed is more important than the quality of the message. And then there’s the third group. These kids intentionally alter the message because they get a kick out of the disruption. The idea of changing the integrity of the message is somehow satisfying to them and I can see it on their faces.
You know just because we grow up physically, we really don’t change that much mentally. Society will tell us that something magical happens at 18 or 21 years old, but psychologists believe that brain maturity isn’t complete until closer to 25. Sure, we have adult problems and situations forced on us such as college, career, family, and kids, but overall, we still handle those problems with a brain that doesn’t match the age of our bodies. Hence the "adult tantrums" you see being displayed everyday around our world.
As adults we still play the telephone game. We play it with family, we play it at work, we play it in our marriages and sadly, we play it with God’s Word. We take the basic formula of truth that founds all relationships and either out of being in a rush, utilizing poor miscommunication, or just outright deception, we see the original message changed in a way that disrupts the content. As a result, lies are told under the ruse of ignorance. Relationships are damaged, friendships hurt and well, the very truth of God’s Word misrepresented to those around us as they watch the way we live.
The fun part of playing the telephone game with kids is when its’s over, to compare the two messages. As you announce the original message, which only the first few kids ever knew of, and then the last message, which only the last few kids were privy to, you get a raucous fit of laughter. As you hear the radical transformation of the message, you can’t help but laugh. How could the truth of a message be altered so greatly right in front of our noses? And a very sad fact of the game? 90% of the kids never knew the truth of the original message. Ouch.
A few chapters ago we saw King David locate the Ark of God and attempt to bring it back to Jerusalem. But he did it the wrong way. God had given a very specific set of rules for carrying and transporting the Ark to Moses way back in Exodus. And just because 42 generations had passed between Moses and David, the rules of God had not passed. You see, we humans are not capable of absolute truth. We do our best to juggle God’s truth while balancing our sin nature, but God, God holds absolute pure truth in His very hands. God’s truth cannot be changed, the truth is and always be just that, the truth.
King David built a shiny new wagon with all of the latest technology. GPS, bluetooth and self-parking. And of course it was a convertible. David was going to bring back the Ark of God in style, he was going to give the Ark of God great respect using the means of a modern king that loved God greatly. There however was only one problem. It wasn’t the original plan of how God wanted the Ark carried. Somehow God’s plan had gotten lost in the telephone game.
“And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.” 1 Chron 15:15
God had very specific instructions for carrying the Ark. Those instructions had not been changed, they had not been altered, and they were even still written down plainly for all to see in the scrolls of the Pentateuch. What happened?
I’m sure that you have looked around our world today. Do you see a world that is desperately seeking for the truth? I see a world that is only looking to please themselves. I see a world that as the book of Judges says not once but twice:
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:15, 21:25
Folks, the Word of God is the truth. It is the only pure truth that exists in our world today. And there is a reason God left it here for us, so that all people would have access to His pure truth. But in order to have the truth you must seek it. And as you locate it, you must be obedient to it’s instructions. No matter how you feel about the truth, it does not alter it. You can hate what God’s Word says about marriage being between one man and one woman, but that doesn’t change the truth. You can hate what it says about being faithful to your spouse until death do you part, but it doesn’t change the truth. You see, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have to get back to the basics, and that is the absolute truth of His Word.
The world will sell us a lie, the world will give us convoluted versions of the truth like the end message from that telephone game, but just because it came from the mouth of someone you know or trust does not make it true. We must constantly go to the Word of God to compare the message of God with the message of the world. And as you do, what you will find will shock you. The truth of God will never align with the message of the world. Today, get back to the basics, get back to living in the truth of God’s Word in all you do, all you say, and all you think.
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” 1 John 2:15
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4
“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:16
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