Elimination

2 Versions of a Story:

First Version:

On Wednesday nights, most of the staff has their night off from camp.  We all do pretty much the same thing: eat out, go to Walmart, and possibly head to a drive-in movie.  This past week, a large group of us decided to go to a drive-in.  Upon arrival, we decided to toss a football around.  However, we decided to play it in the form of the game, so that if someone missed a catch to them, that person was out.  This game has become fairly common with staff around camp this year, so we all know the rules and call this game "Elimination."  Upon the first throw, one of my coworkers/friends turned around to catch the ball and ran straight into a pole with his face.  As I was closest to him, I reached him first to see that he had a cut above his eye, a cut below his eye and a scratch down his cheek.  

I proceeded to run for ice, antiseptic wipes, band-aids, and butterfly bandages from the concession stand.  After wiping everything out and applying the butterfly bandage onto cut located on his forehead, we sent him back to the camp to get checked out by the nurse to verify that he didn't have a concussion.  It turns out that he had a mild concussion, but was going to be alright.

Second Version:

While hanging out with us in Indiana, my friend/coworker saw a bear that charged at him and mauled his face, resulting in a cut above his eye, below his eye, a scratch down his cheek, and a mild concussion.  We were all very concerned as his cheek remained swollen for the following day.  

Now, one of these stories is what happened to me this past Wednesday.  I will let you choose which is true and which is what we told the campers.

Obviously, some of the campers thought that a bear attacking my friend in the middle of Indiana was a bit far-fetched.  However it was quite a bit of fun to convince them that this is what had occurred.  It should be fairly clear which of these stories is what really happened.  That being said, what enables us to deduce truth from lies?  

I believe that studying the truth and knowing that the probability of running into a bear in Indiana is relatively low is what allows us to do so.  This is also true of other situations like this one.  Knowing the truth enables us to identify the lies.  As such, we should study the truth.  I do not necessarily mean beg people to tell the truth.  I mean that we should study the Bible, as it is the truth and the Word of God.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

John 17:17

In studying what is true, we will know when there are lies being fed to us.  Have you studied the truth today?