“The Truth Effect”
Jesus said, “…the Truth will set you free.”
Pastor’s Perspective Column, Stevens County Times
By Pastor Tim White
February 2025
Something has shifted. Ever since Donald Trump’s historic election win, American institutions, corporations, and international relationships have had a seismic shift. It is intriguing that, even before he took the oath of office, numerous companies, CEOs, and world leaders began shifting their policies, trade agreements, and practices to better align with Trump’s America First agenda.
In the last half of 2024, we began hearing encouraging reports that multiple corporations and some state colleges and universities were closing their “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) departments and returning to merit-based hiring and student enrollment practices. Even Disney came out at the end of last year, stating they want to return to their original focus – to entertain rather than make political stands. Who saw that coming – and so quickly?
From returning criminal aliens to their native country to criminalizing those who practice medical and surgical trans gendering of children, the majority of people seem grateful and relieved to see “common sense,” actual biological science, and the rule of law returning to the forefront of society.
As further evidence that most Americans are glad about these changes, one only needs to look at what is not happening – the wave of projected riots and protests has not materialized as we saw in January 2017. The very opposite is occurring today. A growing number of people are cautiously optimistic that with Trump at the helm, our country may be positioning itself for what has been called “America’s Golden Age.”
The news media and political pundits have labeled this phenomenon the “Trump Effect.” However, I believe something more significant and transformational is behind the so-called “Trump Effect,” and I would call it the “Truth Effect.”
As an example, I believe a supermajority of Americans always knew there were only two genders. The average person became bewildered as they watched the NCAA, the Olympic Committee, and professional sports deny reality as they let men compete as a woman. If you spoke up about the lunacy of this, they would cancel you, label you as a transphobe, and sometimes worse. This dictatorial demand for compliance with a lie extends into public schools. In one case, a school district expelled a grade-school boy for wearing a shirt that said there were only two genders.
As George Orwell once said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Most citizens were fed up, and their vote was a revolutionary act that demanded that common sense and Truth be returned to government, public policy, and society. So, when President Trump declared on day one that the federal government’s policy was that there were only two genders, male and female, there was a collective sigh of relief among most people. Why would that be? Because we finally have someone saying the Truth we all know, and the lies are no longer welcome in a free society.
They say that “courage is contagious,” and I agree. Our President’s clear-minded courage to lead from the foundation of self-evident Truths is a powerful catalyst for the frustrated masses who are adding their voices to the symphony of truth-tellers and freedom-lovers. More and more people are speaking up and refusing to tolerate the insanity that allows grown men to be declared “real women” as they steal the awards in women’s sports and then prance into their locker rooms to feast their eyes on our daughters and granddaughters.
I could go on to address the blatant racism of “Identity Politics” or the absolute failure of every false prophecy of climate gloom and doom over the last seventy years but let me get to the most crucial dynamic being witnessed in our nation. When the Truth is welcomed and embraced, people are set free, and societies flourish.
The “Truth Effect” brings calmness to society because the “forgotten” citizens experience a sense of relief and joy because someone is finally saying what they know to be true – and Trump was the only one courageous enough to call out the lies and deception. The people embraced him because he spoke from the point of common sense that has been sorely lacking these last 4 years.
The most potent aspect of the “Truth Effect” is its impact on individuals throughout their lives. Jesus, who is “the way, the Truth, and the life” (John 14:6), said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). Knowing the Truth of Scripture and using it to direct your life (Ps. 119:105) will protect you from many inherent traps posed by sinful desires and by humanistic ideologies that reject God.
Most importantly, the Truth of Scripture reveals the tender mercies of God toward a lost humanity and directs the listening soul to forgiveness, salvation, and freedom from guilt, shame, and bondage to sin. The Psalmist gives us a wonderful mental picture of this freedom Jesus spoke about when he declared, "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." (Psalm 119:32)
What a word picture! Are you ready to get your “freedom sneakers” on? Many things in this life bring discouragement, anxiety, etc. Still, amid all that, Jesus calls us to a more profound freedom of heart, mind, and soul for all who humble themselves, confess their sin, and surrender the rest of their lives to following Him.
Jesus is calling; will you answer His call? Feel free to contact me if you have questions or are ready to know what it means to follow Christ. You will not regret it.