Soul Qualities Part 5
March 26, 2026
Soul Qualities Part 5: Truth
When truth is treated as optional, the soul begins to ache.
Not long ago, someone told me that all politicians are liars, and that our only task is to choose the liar we prefer. They went on to say that politics is inherently corrupt, that power always seeks money, and that no one in office is willing to relinquish control because of their money and power. Their certainty was chilling, not because corruption does not exist, but because truth itself had been dismissed. The truth is that there are public servants who relentlessly give from a heart of service.
I think of my father, and my mother, and of everyone I have known who gave their lives and served the greater good and freedom. They did this through military, church, and community service. Because I experienced this, my soul knows these people were acting from a profoundly unselfish heart. There was no gap between their faith, their values, and their actions. For most, the golden thread that bound together country, family, and God was truth. And for that truth, they were willing to not only serve but to sacrifice everything. Many did.
I recently heard someone say, “I didn’t vote for my leader because I wanted them to be my moral guide; I voted for them to fight for what I want, and to use any means necessary.” What grieves me in this statement is the willingness to affirm morality but intentionally sever it from real life. Theirs is a split reality in which morality lives separately from everyday experience.
There is an internal lack of consistency between their sense of right and wrong and their desires. Some people, in defense of this inconsistency, say “Jesus taught love, but he did not live in the world we live in now.” They may go on to say, “We can’t be loving with those who threaten us— we must dominate them.” But Jesus’s world was no less violent, no less unjust, and no less dangerous. Yet he taught that to stop the cycle of violence and hatred we must love even our enemies. Jesus expressed a consistency between love and enemies. Our job is to figure out how best to do that in real life.
Our politics are our beliefs in action, but if our beliefs are inconsistent with our soul’s understanding of truth, then our lives are fragmented with no integrity between conscience and everyday life. To divide faith from action, ideals from practice, and morality from policy, is to live a split and dualistic life.
What might happen if truth flowed seamlessly through both our relationship with God and our participation in society? What if we did not have different sets of responses at church and at the ballot box?
The founders of this country were deeply flawed, yet they grounded their vision in moral principles, a concern for the common good, and a belief in something greater than themselves. As our collective consciousness has evolved, so too has our understanding of how truth expresses itself in love and justice—through the abolition of slavery, the recognition of women as full citizens, the affirmation of civil rights, the protection of the elderly, the pursuit of equal pay, and the growing acknowledgment of LGBTQ lives. Progress has never been smooth, but the arc bends toward a more integrated expression of truth. Yet the regressions, lapses, and push backs also continue. The idea is to live from the highest idea of soul that we can embody at the time, even though we may fail.
Truth is not static. It unfolds as we are ready to understand more of it.
Spiritual practice: If you are Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim—or guided by another sacred path—do your moral teachings inform your public choices?
Self-inquiry: Can truth ever be served by lies?
Prayer:
Dear God, I ask for truth, even when its light feels blinding. Give my eyes time to adjust. Let my soul recognize what is real, whole, and loving. Amen.
