22 December 2009

Soldiership - part eight: Truth

"I will be true to the principles and practices of The Salvation Army, loyal to its leaders, and I will show the spirit of salvationism whether in times of popularity or persecution. "

I really like this particular phrase. In a world where 'wrong seems right' it's often difficult to determine what is truthful. Misinformation abounds. Half the circulated 'facts' I get via email or Facebook turn out to be wrong (it's worth checking out some of these circulars before passing them on - try snopes.com for a start). As a seeker after truth I tend to take things in and ponder over them for a while before making my own decision - I've learnt to my cost that people, even friends and family, can often take a wrong turn, doing the wrong things for the right reasons. I don't want to be one of them.

So I will be true to the principles and practices of The Salvation Army, a movement which has been tried and tested, and holds fast to many tenets which many find to be unfashionable in the 21st Century. Because I've tested them and found them to be true...

Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

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