Now that is the truth.

This is the other of the two dogs I painted very shortly after I had painted my own dog. Once again the owner did not ask me to do this I did it for my own desire to see if I could get it better than I did more than a year ago. I feel I have but until the owner tells me I will not know. 

Four times yesterday I heard something that I am sure we all hear many times in a day. I am sure like me on social media we also read people making the claim also. What am I speaking of? The words, "This is the truth."

Now I am equally guilty of those words passing my lips without any real depth of thought before doing so. I do not for one minute mean that those who say these words, and I certainly do not mean that when I utter them deep down in my heart I believe what I am saying to be true is just that. 

But like so many words I think it is worthy of some thought. I know that I live my life with the sincerest desire to not only be seen to be an honest person but to in fact be an honest person. There is a difference with some thought. 

Henry Rowland, a professor of physics, was once called as an expert witness at a trial. 

During cross-examination a lawyer demanded, "What are your qualifications as an expert witness in this case?"

Normally Rowland was a very modest and retiring professor replied quietly, "I am the greatest living expert on the subject under discussion." 

Later a good friend well acquainted with Rowland's disposition expressed surprise at the professor's uncharacteristic answer. Rowland answered, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I was under oath."

As a serving magistrate, I put a great many people under oath asking then to swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.  Strangely I often was able to prove that those standing before me might have made that promise but it was fairly simple to show they had no intentions of keeping the promise.

A professor once asked a group of students about what it was to proclaim a faith in a god. he posed the question, "Is believing in a god like guessing the number of beans in a jar or is it like knowing what is the best piece of music?" Most agreed that it was like choosing a piece of music. he then suggested that in that case truth might be more subjective than he thought? 

There is an interesting tale obviously told by somebody who had grown cynical of the number of Christians claiming to be the custodians of the ultimate truth.

The story goes.

Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts. They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny.

 "What did he find?" asked the cohort. 

"A piece of the truth," the Devil replied.  

"Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the truth?" asked the cohort. 

"No," said the Devil, "I will see to it that he makes a religion out of it." 

It is a precious thing truth and friendship and relationships rely on it being at the very heart of any such relationship. On the other side of that, there lies an interesting word, trust. For there to be trust there has to be a sense that the other is, in fact, a truthful person. 

Now here is a real problem for you to contemplate. "If truth is such an important element of all things can it ever be correct to tell a little white lie?" 

I leave that one with you because my answer to that question has got me into far too many situations of hot water. 

Have a marvellous and I hope after this a contemplative day.