Each and every one of us have got a certain tolerance level or limit towards something. Once we reach that level and beyond, some may find it quite difficult to go on. Some have got a certain tolerance level towards pain. Once they reach that level, the pain may become quite unbearable that some may resort to drastic measures (such as suicide, or if the pain is caused by another, some may even go to the extent of committing murder) to end the pain, while others may turn to substances to dull the pain, and in doing so some may end up becoming addicted to such substances after prolonged usage. But what sort of tolerance level do we have towards the truth?
The truth hurts. Some of us prefer not to let others know the real us, or the real situation, and we would go through great effort to cover up the truth or sweep it under the carpet, and find ways and means to ensure it does not surface. In some cases, trying to avoid the truth could lead some of us to have malice, cruel intentions or wickedness in our hearts. Some begin to ill-treat, mock or even kill (either by actually committing such an act, or by bringing down a person’s reputation through character assassination). This is the situation the godless in today’s reading were in. They could not and refused to admit the truth, and their reasoning, common sense and sense of justice and fairness became corrupted and misguided. The reading even tells us: “This is the way they reason, but they are misled, their malice makes them blind. They do not know the hidden things of God, they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded, they can see no reward for blameless souls.”
What about us? Have some of us become like the godless, only interested in finding ways and means to protect ourselves and our interests from being exposed or revealed? Are we running away, avoiding or hiding the truth? We may be able to run and hide, but for how long? Someday, somewhere, the truth will come back to haunt us and be brought to light. As a Malay saying goes: “sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga” (roughly translated into English as: “no matter how clever a squirrel is able to jump, it would eventually fall to the ground”). Let us set aside our pride, prejudice and ego, and let God guide us to be true.