Ideology vs. Truth

Are truth and ideology the same thing?

The short answer is, no.

Here's why:

As humans we often conflate ideology and truth, or relate to them interchangeably, but they are two very different things. Ideology mimics truth in that it can look and sound a lot like truth because it can in fact contain elements of truth in it but, ultimately, it falls short of fundamentally transformative saving truth, as found in Jesus and His word. It is in essence what “having a form godliness but denying the power thereof” looks like. The line between truth and ideology can also be so fine that to reject ideology makes it seem like you’re rejecting truth, that’s how similar they may appear -- on the surface.

I believe humans are drawn to ideology more than they are to truth because ideology is much easier on the ears and on the ego, whereas truth can be inconvenient, seemingly counterintuitive, and usually always pride and ego busting. Ideology can give us a sense of goodness and self-righteousness because it may lead to good outward behavior, saying all the right things, or aligning ourselves with the "right" causes, but embracing it as truth doesn’t transform or free us the way only real truth can.

Here are just a few of the other fundamental flaws with ideology:

Ideology does not require repentance from sin

Ideology does not require self-denial

Ideology does not require commitment

Ideology does not require humility

Ideology does not cleanse or renew the heart

Ideology temporarily or superficially "fixes" symptoms, not causes

Ideology isn’t principled

Ideology changes as needed

Ideology is works based

Ideology boosts human ego

Ideology places trust in man rather than God

Ultimately, ideology does not heal and does not save.

"You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom…Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me…You desire not sacrifice; otherwise I give it: you delight not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you wilt not despise". Psalm 51:6,10, 16-17.

Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. I Samuel 15:22.

The context of the verse 22 in 1 Samuel is when Samuel reprimanded King Saul for not doing what God had asked. Saul deferred to his own sense of “goodness” in carrying out God’s will rather than obeying God’s explicit instructions because he thought they were too harsh. This is what ideology is: good outward acts borne out of an unrenewed or even rebellious heart. Works based religion. What God desires is a fully surrendered and obedient heart, not outward shows of goodness.

And why do the differences between truth and ideology matter?

I'll share why they matter to me:

I’ve been through stuff in my life that abruptly opened my eyes to the importance of seeking and living by truth and objective reality even when it hurts or seems counterintuitive. About two years ago I experienced a private but significant existential and faith meltdown where my inner world imploded on itself. There are no words to describe the depth and bitterness of the crushing disappointment that ensued. It made me realize that for too long I had believed in the wrong things and the wrong people.

So while this wasn't neessarily about ideology, it made me become an ardent and intentional truth-seeker; I vowed to revolve my life around truth and timeless principles no matter how unpopular or uncomfortable. I realized that only real truth is capable of transforming, saving, and healing.

The more I sought truth, the more I saw its counterfeits for that they are. Ideology was one of them. including the kind swathed in Scripture which, unfortunately, is now preached from many pulpits and called truth. I want to live my life based on real truth, not on an abstract system of supposed good ideas, talking points, or outward shows of goodness, sincere as they may be.

Ultimately, the difference between truth and ideology is the difference between life and death; freedom and bondage; wholeness and brokenness. Truth, as found in Jesus and His Word, transforms from the inside out—it renews our hearts, cleanses our motives, and sets us free. It addresses root causes of many of the social ills we attempt to solve with ideology, no matter how noble or appealing it seems. It is a shallow imitation that looks good on the surface but lacks substance. If our professed goal is to help others, the best thing we could ever do for them is to point them to truth.

To build your life on ideology is to build on shifting sand—unstable and fleeting. To build your life on truth is to anchor yourself to a rock that will withstand storms and the passage of time. Yes, truth demands more of us—repentance, humility, and surrender—but in return, it offers the kind of peace, purpose, freedom, healing, and transformation that ideology never could.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Ultimately, only truth breeds life. At best, ideology breeds a short-lived illusion.

Let us choose wisely.

Scripture for further contemplation: Psalm 15:1-2; Psalm 25:5; Psalm 119:30; Proverbs 14:12; John 8:32; John 14:6; Corinthians 2:13-16; Romans 12:2; Jeremiah 23:9-40 (long but insightful); John 17:17, 2 Corinthians 13:83; 3 John 1:4