May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
"A good investigator has to maintain a healthy skepticism in order to find the truth. But, as an investigator, you must guard yourself against becoming cynical. So, become skeptical, but not cynical."
Those words begin a lecture I gave hundreds of times over the years to new fire protection engineers about to embark on a career as insurance inspectors. The words came from my own lifetime of experience inspecting the facilities of the Fortune 1,000 companies.
When you have responsibilities that demand you must find the truth, you must always begin from a position of skepticism. You simply cannot accept as "truth" anything that you have not personally verified from first sources.
From a practical standpoint that means I cannot accept as "truth" what one person tells me about an event he or she witnessed. That's why investigators always interview as many people as possible. A good investigator weaves together a truthful understanding of an event by correlating information from many interviews. If one person tells me what he or she saw, I must verify that information by putting the person's observation into a larger context.
Similarly, I cannot accept as "truth" what one person tells me some other person did or said. If someone reads a document to me, I must ask to see that document for myself. If someone quotes a portion of a letter or memo to me, I must ask to see the entire letter or memo, so I can put the read portion into the context of the entire document. You see, context is always a key to the truth.
"Do you mean to tell me that you shouldn't trust anyone?"
That's right. If I want to find "truth," I have to verify all information for myself. I must ask questions and seek details to support what I'm being told. Let me give you an example.
To help preserve the properties we insured against damage from fire, we asked the management of each facility to designate someone to make weekly self-inspections of all fire protection equipment. Then, as a part of our periodic insurance inspections, we would ask if the facility was making those self-inspections. Over the course of several thousand inspections, I never had a manager tell me that his or her facility was not making those inspections. Yet, when I asked to see the copies of the weekly inspection reports, I often found significant discrepancies between what the manager thought his or her employees were doing and what those employees were actually doing. And, this is just one item from a list of hundreds of items that go into the effort to preserve a facility against destruction by fire.
So, I wonder. When someone tells you what they saw someone do. Or, when someone tells you something about another person. Or, when someone gives you some information. Do you accept that information without question and make decisions based on that information? Or, do you verify that what you're being told is really the truth? Do you dig in to find the context in which that information resides?
"Surely, there is someone you trust?"
Yes, I trust God and His Word, the Bible. I trust the inner nudging of the Holy Spirit. I trust the gift of discernment that God has chosen to give me with regard to sensing the presence of evil. Apart from those, I trust no one. Does that seem harsh? Perhaps it does. But, I have arrived at this position through a lifetime of experience at working diligently to find the "truth." Finding the truth is hard work. Most people give up before they dig deeply enough to discover the truth. Skeptical persistence pays off, though, when you want to discover truth.
Now, please don't misunderstand. Just because I treat all information skeptically does not mean that I treat the person delivering the information disdainfully. Quite to the contrary. The Bible teaches us that we must do our best to treat all people with respect, kindness, generosity of spirit, gentleness, and God-breathed love. So, even in my quest for the truth when I treat information with skepticism, I still treat the person supplying the information in a manner that honors God.
At the same time, if I discover that the information a particular person has given me has proven false, I am much more careful when receiving information from that person in the future. This is particularly true when I deal with decision-makers. Most leaders have an agenda. In fact, I will state that every leader has an agenda. That agenda could be good, noble, selfless, and worthy. Or, a leader's agenda could be tainted by selfishness, or some other less honorable motivator. In many cases, a decision-maker's agenda can color any information that leader supplies. So, I always carefully verify information that comes from decision-makers.
And, in my effort to maintain a healthy skepticism, I also make a conscious effort to guard myself against becoming cynical. I try to always keep an open mind. If someone gives me information that my verification process discloses is not fully truthful, I don't treat that person with suspicion until he or she has given me untruthful information several times. Only after someone has given me distorted information repeatedly, do I begin to treat what he or she says with suspicion.
In addition to verifying all information by going to first sources, use verbal cues to help you discern the truth. For example, in making inspections at many facilities, I have learned to be hesitant whenever I hear someone say, "You need to trust me..." I have found that people who punctuate their pronouncements by imploring their listeners to trust what they say, often have distorted the truth to fit their own agendas.
I'm certainly not suggesting that you follow my pattern. No. As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you must make your own judgment on this matter. But, I would urge you to listen carefully to everyone who speaks with you. And, I would most respectfully suggest that you make it a practice to verify what you're told. If someone tells you that a certain person said something that merits action on your part, go to that person and ask them to give you the context. You may find that the information you received was intentionally or unintentionally distorted by the person who first told you.
In the final analysis, measure all information against God's Word. Let your own study of Scripture give you the tools to make sound judgments, particularly about behavior. After all, you can trust God and His Word. Even as Jesus prayed in John 17:17:
"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
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