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| Yes, I have this card; several copies of it. |
This story connects with me on multiple levels: (1) I was an avid baseball card collector in my youth {thus spending nearly all my paper route money} with tens of thousands of cards now stored in boxes in my parents' basement back in MI, (2) Don Mattingly was one of the four players that I tried to get every card of {along with the Tigers' Matt Nokes, the Mets' Dwight Gooden, and my all-time favorite, the A's Ricky Henderson}, and (3) the reason why I'm sharing this, I too care about accuracy and truth.
Why is it that so many people today can't even be bothered to spend 30 seconds to determine (painlessly and for free) whether or not what they're about to share on social media is a hoax, fake, or an outright lie? What happened to the idea that, "My word is my bond"? Why doesn't it bother more people that they're being used as tools to advance causes they may/may not agree with on the basis of falsehoods?
Baseball historian Bill Haber spent countless hours tracking down the truth about even totally obscure baseball players, writing letters and spending money for public records because he cared about the truth. The author of the story, Sam Miller, dug around until he found the answer to a mystery (It's an interesting mystery, read the story) because he too wanted to know the truth.
As Christians, the Truth is supposed to matter more to us, there's a reason why I use a capital "T" when talking about it as a principle. Dozens of times in the Gospel Jesus begins an important statement with, "I tell you the truth..." {"Verily"is the old school translation in the KJV}.
Numbers 23:19 New International Version
God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
John 4:24 New International Version
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
John 14:6 New International Version
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Those are but three of dozens of examples of the insistence upon the Truth from God and by the people of God. When we lie, or share lies, we not only harm our own reputation as people who value Truth, but we are indeed committing acts of sinful rebellion against a God who rejects utterly the notion of using evil like a tool, no matter what the goal may be. You may think you're serving a higher purpose by lowering the truth from a necessity to a nuisance, that your cause is worth the cost, but you're not, and it isn't.
Why don't we care more about Truth? Why aren't we deeply concerned that we might inadvertently be spreading lies? There is an answer, but you're not going to like what it says about us. I use the plural pronouns because even though I do spend the time and put in the effort to honor the truth to the best of my ability, when some fellow Christians do not always do so, it is all of our reputation that suffers. If we can't be bothered to care about the Truth in politics (to use a common example) why would anyone believe we know the Truth about life after death? When enough Christians (or at least those professing to be Christians) have earned a reputation for dishonesty, that character flaw is ascribed to all of us, it becomes a weight that we must carry as we attempt to share the Gospel and impact our communities for the Kingdom of God.
Facts matter, honor matters, integrity matters, and yes, the Truth absolutely matters. If you can't be bothered to seek the truth, please stop pretending to represent Christianity.
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