Seeking Truth in Today's Troubled World

Free speech is not a talisman that turns folly into wisdom or rudeness into courage. It is a legal shield against government punishment for words. It is not a contract that binds employers, customers, or neighbors to applaud, employ, or endorse those words. We confuse categories and then act shocked at the bill that arrives. The First Amendment limits Caesar. It does not conscript the baker, the teacher, the audience, or the board of directors. 

The moral law tells us that words matter. Scripture never treats speech as weightless. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” and “on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word” (Matthew 12:34, 36). A society that pretends speech has no consequences declares, in effect, that hearts have no consequences. That profound lie flatters us for a moment and ruins us in the end. 

Much noise today is spent on a shallow slogan. “I have free speech.” Indeed. You have liberty to speak without being jailed by the state. Others have liberty to judge your words and to act within their own lawful spheres. Property rights, freedom of association, and the common prudence required to run a school, a business, or a broadcast network all remain in force. An employer hires for skill and judgment. If words publicly reveal a lack of judgment, the employer may conclude that the employment bargain no longer makes sense. That is not tyranny. That is stewardship. 

The Bible teaches that freedom is for good works, not a cover for evil. “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). Paul puts it bluntly. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up (1 Corinthians 10:23). Lawful speech can still be corrupting. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up” (Ephesians 4:29). If an employee delights publicly in evil, management is not obliged to nod along in the name of free speech. The authority to employ includes the authority to cease employing. Consequences are not censorship. They are the price tag of choices. 

Many, this week, have openly mocked a man’s murder. Some were not ashamed to celebrate it. Scripture speaks directly to that posture. “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles” (Proverbs 24:17). David learned of Saul’s death and did not gloat. He tore his clothes, wept, and rebuked the one who boasted of the killing (2 Samuel 1). The commandment “You shall not murder” includes the moral ecology around murder. To praise it is to consent to it. Paul warns of those “who not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). Celebration of bloodshed is not brave speech. It is a confession of a blackened heart. 

“But what about free speech?” comes the cry. The question mistakes a shield for a throne. The First Amendment restrains the magistrate. It does not force the rest of us to bankroll speech we consider reckless or vicious. A coach who shouts abuse at students on a public sidewalk will not go to prison for the shouting. He may lose his team. A news anchor who turns grief into sport will not be dragged before a judge for his words. He may face a studio that no longer wants to attach its brand to his judgment. This is not complicated arithmetic. The right to speak is real. The right of others to respond is just as real. 

Boycotts, too, are speech. The same freedom that guards a monologue guards the decision to turn the channel, close the wallet, or withdraw trust. Citizens are free to state, “I will not fund this.” Businesses are free to reply, “We will not broadcast that.” Pastors are free to teach, “Bless those who persecute you” and “Overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14, 21). Freedom does not guarantee harmony. It guarantees the field on which discernment and character can be seen. 

Calls for consequence are not always wise. Employers can act rashly. Mobs can punish the innocent. Scripture warns us to judge with right judgment and to be slow to speak and slow to anger (John 7:24; James 1:19). Yet the existence of abuse does not cancel right use. The cure for unwise consequences is wiser governance, not the fantasy of consequence free speech. To remove consequence is to remove accountability. Remove accountability and you invite decay. 

There is also a Christian word that must be spoken to Christians. Speech that honors Christ will be truthful, seasoned with grace, and aimed at the neighbor’s good. “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). The world will slander believers and call truth hate. Expect it. “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). The answer is not to copy the scorn of the age. The answer is to speak truth in love, refuse to celebrate evil, and accept that integrity has a cost in public life. If you work for others, your words will be weighed not only by God but by men. Do not expect your employer to underwrite what your conscience cannot defend. 

To those who cheer a killing, the Bible says repent. To those who suffer slander for speaking truth, the Bible says endure. To those who manage institutions, the Bible says use your authority to reward what builds up and to correct what corrupts. Freedom is not the god. God is God. Freedom is a gift that thrives only where responsibility is honored. 

The old wisdom is simple. Guard your tongue and guard your heart. If you speak, be ready to own the cost. If you hire, be ready to guard the trust placed in your care. If you hear speech that delights in cruelty, withdraw your praise and offer a better word. “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble” (Proverbs 21:23). “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life” (Proverbs 13:3). That is not censorship. That is realism rooted in the fear of the Lord. 

A nation that wants the liberty to speak without the duty to be judged has chosen adolescence over adulthood. The path forward is plainer than we pretend. Say what is true. Refuse to celebrate evil. Accept that other free people may part company with you because of what you say. Then keep your conscience clean before God, who will weigh every word. 

In Christ’s service,

~JFH