Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” John 18:37-38
Pilate was asking a cynical or sarcastic question here by saying “what is truth?”. You can imagine a wry grin breaking across his face as he says it, as if he knows well and good that there is no real answer. As a leader in the ruthless Roman Empire, he had seen too much, done too much, to believe that there was ever one right answer, one solitary view corresponding completely to reality. What he really meant was, “look around at all the chaos and confusion and evil and death. Is there really such a thing as truth?”
Truth: the property of being in accord with fact or reality
For something to be true is has to be real. It has to conform to reality, by definition. Sometimes we think that things are true, but they are not in line with reality, so by definition they are not really true. We call that being deceived. When Eve was deceived by Satan, he tempted her and she believed a lie – in other words, she thought what she heard was the truth – but it was not.
As a magician, I often use the perception of reality to my advantage.[1] Not to get too in-depth (a magician never reveals his secrets), but magicians often use “sleight-of-hand” to make things appear one way, when in reality they are not. For the trick to be successful, it is not important what the reality actually is at any given moment, but what the spectator’s perception of reality is. In the same way, Satan never alters the truth – truth is unchanging. He alters our perception of the truth through lies, doubts, and deception.
There are two very big statements the Bible makes about truth: Jesus is Truth, and the Bible is Truth.
Jesus is Truth
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
Jesus Himself said that He is the truth – meaning, He embodies truth – everything about Him conforms to reality! I think one of the greatest things about meeting and knowing Jesus is that He defines reality. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you know that you have heard the truth – indeed, you know the One Who is the truth! You know the truth about creation because He is the Creator; you know the truth about yourself because He is your Savior; and you know the truth about eternity because He is the eternal King.
The Bible is Truth
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. John 17:17
The Word of God – the Bible – is truth. Everything it teaches, everything it says – conforms to reality. What God’s Word tells us about the universe, about ourselves, about the beginning of time, about the end of time, about relationships, about sin, about love, about sex, about children, about justice, about balance – ALL of this and more conforms to reality. And if you base your life on it, you are basing your life on truth – what is real.
What is truth? Truth is reality, and reality is Jesus Christ and His Word. Or put another way, God in His person and in His Word defines truth and reality.
There are good applications of boundaries and bad applications of boundaries all around us. The boundary of law and order, which in the United States is given by the Constitution and code of related laws and upheld by leaders and law enforcement, is a good boundary. For example, if we removed the specific boundary of the law dealing with right to life – laws that in general say someone cannot harm or injure another person or property without recourse – society would devolve into a place of revenge and anarchy. When used appropriately, this boundary protects life, property, and institutions that we hold dear. It promotes freedom in that it enables moral, honest citizens the opportunity to move about and live their lives in safety and security.
However, the same general boundary – the law – can be misappropriated and misused in ways that does not promote freedom, but instead limits it. The law unjustly applied to citizens creates a totalitarian state where no one is free to do anything, other than what the government gives them permission to do. Freedom disappears with the over-application of the boundary of laws.
In his book “Boundaries for Leaders”, Henry Cloud writes that “good boundaries, both those that help us manage ourselves and lead others, always produce freedom, not control.”[1] It is when we either fail to recognize good boundaries, or we recognize them and reject them, that we are in trouble. In our search for freedom, by throwing off God’s divine boundaries, what we are doing is putting ourselves in the open with the cheetah. The cheetah is just as real as the boundaries, and when we seek to step outside those real boundaries, the real cheetah is there waiting.
Finding the Balance
There is a balance of accepting external boundaries in our life and simultaneously pursuing freedom – true freedom. This is a balance that we see played out in Scripture.
First, to find balance we can learn how to deal with unjust boundaries. There is a principle in Scripture that teaches us that we cannot allow unjust boundaries to prevent us from serving the Lord. The Apostles dealt with unjust boundaries – boundaries designed to thwart the Word of God – and they responded with force:
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:27-29
This was a direct, forceful defiance against the authorities in charge. It was justified because the boundaries were unjust – they were not boundaries leading to true freedom, but boundaries designed to crush that freedom. Those kinds of boundaries can and should be justly refused.
On the other side of the coin, we cannot simply run the race of life however we deem best, removing whatever boundaries our opinion tells us are unjust, and setting up our own. The definition of freedom is not arbitrary. We must play by the rules. The Apostle Paul addresses this very subject:
And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:5
Paul is talking about running the Christian race, life in general, in his letter to Timothy. He is reminding Timothy of the powerful principle of boundaries. He is exhorting him that there are indeed some things that he cannot do, and some things that he must do. There are boundaries that are fixed that he must observe in order to run well.
If a runner in an Olympic race decides half-way through to start running outside the lines, taking shortcuts, running backwards, and skipping obstacles – he would be disqualified. Why? Because he is no longer truly running the race. He is ignoring the fixed boundaries. In the same way, there are many people who ignore God’s boundaries in many areas of life. While they may appear to have freedom in the moment, in reality they are like the runner who is no longer participating in the race. And God is the one Who will judge us in the race of life – whether we ran according to His boundaries, or we did our own thing. Doing our own thing will not lead to victory and reward. In the end, it leads only to shame and regret. This dynamic of freedom and boundaries plays itself out in several areas of life: our work, our families, our other relationships, and our ministries.
When I select people to serve with me on various teams, whether they are reporting directly or indirectly to me, I always follow the rule of “The Three C’s of Team Selection”. The Three C’s are: character, chemistry, and competence.
Character
Character is who you are when no one is looking. And character is who you are when everyone is looking, or anyone is looking, or just one person is looking, or just your enemies are looking, or just your spouse and kids are looking. Character is who you really are.
Character is choosing to do the right thing all the time, every time. Those are the kinds of people that I want to work with, towing the line with me, serving alongside of me, and yes, taking directions and carrying out the vision.
“A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him” – John Maxwell.
I like that quote. While it doesn’t encapsulate everything about character, you can feel what he means. People with character are genuine, and their genuineness spills over into their steadfastness, their demeanor, and their integrity.
Chemistry
Chemistry is that innate ability to get along with others; to play nicely; to have emotional intelligence. Chemistry is crucial, because we must get along before we can get moving.
In my experience, chemistry is something that you experience with others. It is the integration between two or more people of the combination of words, body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and attitude. But we don’t consciously calculate all of those things and add them up like a math problem. We experience them with other people. We feel chemistry.
When I interview people to join my team, at some point in the process I normally invite them to dinner with their spouse and my wife. I learned this interview technique from Dave Ramsey in his wonderful book EntreLeadership. I apply it for two reasons: one, I want to see their interaction with other people in a social environment, and two, I want my wife to get a “feel” for the chemistry between all of us. There are decisions that have gone the other way, deals that have not been made, and paths that were not taken, all because my wife had a strange feelingabout the chemistry with the other person.
There are people that I have not offered jobs too who were well qualified and honest, upstanding individuals. The reason I did not offer the job is because there was something in the chemistry that was not right. I literally imagined having to come to work and see this person every single day, and I knew that it would be a bad decision for them and for me. While it may seem “touchy feely” to some, I hope that I’ve at least made you think about what an important factor chemistry is when choosing team members.
Having the right chemistry helps in stressful situations that come up in any organization. If everyone relates on basically the same wavelength, difficult problems can be handled efficiently, and everyone can move on. Without chemistry, the slightest storm can rock the whole organizational boat.
Competence
The hard truth is that some people are just not made to be leaders. Some people are not comfortable making decisions, moving things forward, and taking risks. You must be sure that the people you delegate to are, as Jethro advised, able to do the job.
We must remember that people are gifted to perform specific tasks, not EVERY task! A person may have great character and really good chemistry with everyone in the office, but if they are not competent administratively, don’t hire them to be the administrator! And yet, these sorts of hires happen all the time.
As believers, particularly when hiring in a ministry setting, we need to keep in mind spiritual gifts as taught in 1 Corinthians 12. While it is true that we can work to improve ourselves (2 Tim 2:15), in my estimation, we cannot improve what is not already there.
The main thing to remember with the “The Three C’s of Team Selection” is that they must all be present in a person in order for you to confidently delegate to them. If one of the three is missing, disaster awaits. We must select the right people as stewards of the vision.
We don’t need to choose between having contentment or having vision. We can have both, as long as they remain in balance. We have to look at the whole account of God’s Word and realize that He gave us the doctrines of both contentment and vision, and He obviously wants us to have both in our lives. The problems occur when we are out of balance. The problems occur when we view the dynamic as a mutually exclusive choice – either/or.
Contentment
First, contentment acts as a restrain on vision – a check and balance, if you will. A lack of contentment unleashes vision and drive to become something it should not be. When we are not satisfied in Christ, we feel the need to do more, prove more, achieve more at no end – we must always have “more”. Think “work-a-holic” type situations.
I grew up a big NASCAR racing fan. I would watch almost eve-ry race on Sunday afternoon in-between Sunday morning and Sunday evening church services. I have distinct memories of sit-ting in the church parking lot, listening to the final laps of a race, and then racing in myself to the building to make it on time for the worship service. One of the most exciting types of racing to watch (or listen to!) is what they call “restrictor plate” racing. A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. In layman’s terms, it’s a metal plate with some holes in it, that when installed, prevents some airflow into the engine, thus reducing power and therefore speed. The main goal of a restrictor plate is to limit the cars from reaching speeds above 200mph. The engines on these cars are so powerful, that if left unchecked on a large track like Daytona Speedway in Florida, the results would be really fast – and really dangerous. While the engine still operates as it should in a restric-tor plate race, it’s controlled for the environment that it’s in.
In the same way, without contentment, the engine of vision is unrestrained. Contentment is the restrictor plate for vision. Left unchecked, vision and drive will leave much destruction in their wake. As an example from everyday life, a “workaholic” has very little contentment, by definition. Yes, they enjoy what they do and take pleasure in their work many times, but they are never satisfied. They are always looking for more, always feeling the need to achieve more. In short, their vision has lost its restrictor plate somewhere along the way.
King Solomon had something to say about this kind of person:
Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep. Psalm 127:1-2
What this verse teaches is that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to our work, and this tipping point is Di-vinely appropriated. When we are not resting and content in Christ, we labor in vain. When we work without stopping, we are trying to build the house our self, and we are not trusting the Lord to take what we have worked for and multiply it. God’s de-sire is for us to have periods of rest, periods of sabbath. When we ignore that, we violate His principles and His Word. It turns out that it is useless to work overly long hours at all. God will care for us, and thus, we should be able to work hard, and then rest contently.
Hard Work Required
Now please don’t misunderstand. I do believe in hard work. God also says this:
If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8
God wants us to work hard – to run our engines at full capacity. But He also reminds us that we are running on the super-speedway called life, and we need to run with the restrictor plate of contentment in mind.
Vision
On the other side of the coin, a lack of vision makes contentment an idol. We can be tempted to use contentment as an ex-cuse to avoid hard work. That’s out of balance.
God clearly wants us to have vision, to work toward goals, to pursue a better future. Vision is Godly – a part of godliness. God is the Creator; God has a vision and plan for your life. And to be like Him means to do the same – to have a vision.
The key is the balance – to have this vision together with contentment. Vision acted upon from a heart of contentment is God’s ideal for us.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has affected people very deeply. Many of my friends online have posted videos and blog posts about the situation. If we’re being honest, we’re all having a little trouble processing what has happened.
Clearly, America has changed forever. And it’s possible the world has changed too.
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but as I’ve thought and processed over the last several days, I’ve realized a few things that we should take away from this moment in history.
First: Evil is real
We should really have no doubt of this with everything that happens in our world on an hourly basis. But the public execution of Charlie Kirk was shocking in its open display of pure evil. Kirk was not a politician; he was a leader, but did not hold public office. Politicians are often the targets of violence; it’s sad, but somewhat expected. That’s why they have security details. And high-profile private political influencers have security details, but rarely do we see a story about them being attacked. This would’ve been a story if Kirk had just been attacked at a rally, hit over the head with a hammer, pushed down the stairs. But the reality was much worse—and shocked the nation to its core.
Evil took aim on that afternoon without remorse, without fear, without conscience.
In much the same way as on the afternoon of September 11, 2001 – on September 10, 2025 we lost a little bit of our innocence. Some naivety is good. Ignorance is bliss. But those days are gone.
Evil is here, and it is real. This realization affects all of us on a spiritual level.
Second: Evil hates us
One of the first thoughts I had when I saw the news of Kirk’s murder was, “That was me.” I could not get that sense out of my head. It stayed with me. And as I processed that, what I realized was that Charlie Kirk very much represented what I believe and how I live. A believer in Jesus Christ, a conservative, a family man who loves his wife and kids, a man who loves America and who was not afraid to have a debate about the truth. That’s me. Evil hates us.
Not only would the assassin’s bullet have been just as happy to find me, but the people spewing hatred for Kirk and his family online, the myriad of high school and college teachers celebrating his death, would be just as happy if I found the same end.
Not only are we now more aware that evil is present, we are aware that evil targets us. It’s personal this time.
Third: We have a job to do
Yes, the state has a job: to ensure justice is served. Yes, the politicians have a job to secure the nation and make things like this impossible. But we as believers have a higher calling. Our job is to shine a light. Our job is to be unashamed. Our job is to be the salt. Our job is to bring good news to the darkness.
Could this be the seeds of a revival that we have prayed for for so long? I’m hopeful that it is. It can be if we fulfill our calling to go and tell. We have a job to do. I’ve been struck, reminded, challenged, and encouraged by that thought this week.
Christian history is filled with martyrs, whose lives proclaimed Christ and whose deaths proclaimed Him louder. Because when someone is killed for their faith, it awakens those who remain and reminds us of what is at stake. It brings everything into focus.
The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk has caused me to sit up a little straighter, think a little clearer, and be all the more ready to give an answer for the hope that I have. May it be with all of you.
When we encounter horrific situations like the Charlie Kirk murder, it naturally makes us (eventually) search for a solution. And many of the solutions being bantered about now on social media channels are political. But politics will not fix this. Only the gospel can fix this.
The solution to evil is not Charlie Kirk’s politics. It’s Charlie Kirk’s Savior.
Jesus changes lives. Individual lives. And collectively, His gospel changes culture and society. Dr. Elmer Towns has referred to this as redemptive lift, and the implications are powerful.
Church planting and growth are the key to promulgating the gospel effectively, and to changing societies, changing nations.
To the pastors, church planters, missionaries, and servants of Christ reading this – what you do matters. More than you know.
