Just because I Strongly Believe Something Doesn’t Make it True

I’m reminded that just because a person believes something doesn’t mean it’s true. Just because someone speaks confidently about something and is fully convinced in his heart that what he says is the truth doesn’t mean he is speaking the truth.

Just because I am convinced that I am right doesn’t mean that I am right.

We all have a tendency toward delusion and overconfidence. There is even a scientific name for this: The Dunning-Kruger effect.

Most people think they are very good drivers, in the top 10% even though that’s not possible. Ask people to rate their sales skills, communication skills, math skills, and many other things and they usually rate themselves at the top. They are not trying to be deceptive. They believe it.

Who hasn’t heard the loud, bold, brash, and confident-sounding preacher who is preaching falsehoods that he believes are from God? He believes it. Even though it is false. Ask men to rate how good they are as fathers and most will rate themselves in the top tier. Ask women about their mothering skills and they’ll do the same thing.

And we are all liable to it. The most unsettling truth about it is that those who are the least knowledgeable or skilled in an area are most likely to rate themselves highly in those areas!!

The Bible speaks of Apollo’s example. “At that time a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an educated man from Alexandria. He knew the Scriptures very well. Apollos had been taught the way of the Lord. He spoke with great power. He taught the truth about Jesus. But he only knew about John’s baptism. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they invited him to their home. There they gave him a better understanding of the way of God.” Acts 18:24-26

Apollos, who elsewhere is called an apostle thought he knew the whole counsel of God, yet he hadn’t. The honorable thing about Apollos was that he was humble enough to welcome help from Priscilla and Aquila and accept it. I’ve discovered that the most important safeguard we have against our tendency to believe and spread falsehood is the kind humility that Apollos demonstrates. When we seek, practice, and grow in humility we hold our beliefs with an open heart and mind, willing to carefully consider new evidence like the Berean Jews described in Acts 17:11.

Unfortunately, some people mistakenly think that to believe God means we have to hold to our beliefs so strongly and accept no logical and evidential challenges to the things we hold. They fail to see that’s exactly how cults are formed. Truth that is from God is not afraid of new light being thrown on it. And if what pretends to be light is truly darkness, truth from God is not afraid to consider it with an open mind. The true believer in God, who is not afraid that God will forsake him or leave him is not afraid to consider others’ claims to truth. Cult leaders, on the other hand, brainwash their people and want them to listen to know other sources. They tell their people that others outside their denominations or congregations can’t see the truth as they can and listening to them will mislead them and cause them to lose their salvation and disobey God. By doing so, they use fear to control their people and keep them close-minded to the truth that could set them free.

In chapter 2 of my Amazon bestselling book, Studying Bible Passages, I discuss the inductive spirit and mindset–the kind of spirit and heart that helps one to humbly approach the Scriptures to learn from it and be transformed by its truth and also with an open mind (like the Bereans) consider evidence that other people provide. Such wise people don’t unscrupulously accept what others present as evidence but weigh it to see if it’s really true. And if it’s true, they let the evidence speak on its own terms. I also talk about different fallacies that we can avoid to be able to not only study God’s word but live full lives that benefit from the truth that God reveals through others without being gullible to be deceived and misled by others.

How different would your life be if you developed the inductive spirit and mindset, became very open-minded but not gullible and considerate but not tolerating evil? What if view what you believe as your best understanding of the facts and be open to considering new evidence without accepting falsehoods? Would that keep you from being close-minded and thinking that you know enough when you may not? Would that open you up to be transformed by truth God reveals through others while shielding you from their falsehoods? The truth is that God has a lot of truth and treasures out there. The problem is that this truth and treasures are found in a world filled with deception and heresies. God gives his grace and wisdom to the humble so that they can discern the truth and treasures from the deception and heresies.

Father give us a humble and discerning spirit that we may walk before you humbly and wisely in this corrupt and dangerous world. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!

About the Author

Dr. Kenneth Acha, MD, DMin.

Kenneth’s mission is to use medicine, spiritual formation, poverty alleviation, and leadership development to help people live lives to the fullest. He holds two doctorate degrees: the first is in medicine and the second is in spiritual formation. He is a practicing U.S. physician, an assistant professor of medicine, and a senior professor of leadership and spiritual formation at Servants University (SU). Kenneth is also a core faculty in the department of orphan care and poverty alleviation at SU and the founder and president of the Kenneth Acha Foundation, an organization that has helped thousands of orphans in Cameroon and trained many leaders since 2005.

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