Josh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample

TRUE OR FALSE? Tests. You like to take tests, right? "Yeah, right," you say. "About as much as I like getting a tooth pulled ... on my birthday ... by a dentist using a pair of rusty pliers . . . with no anesthetic!" OK, OK. But if you had to take a test, what kind of test would you choose? Essay? "Yeah, right," you answer. "When donkeys fly." Fill in the blank? "NOT! Fill in the blank tests are better than essay, but. . ." Multiple choice? "Multiple choice isn't bad," you answer, "but..." True/false? "Bingo!" you answer. "Wouldn't everybody choose a true/false test?" Well, maybe not everybody. But most people would. Why? Because there are only two possible answers to any question on a true/false test. True ... or false. "Duh," you say. "Tell me something I don't know." OK, so it seems pretty simple, right? Some things are true and some things are false. That's just the way it is, right? Either "all deserts have sand," or they don't (they don't). Either John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln or he didn't (he did). Either snakes are warm-blooded, or they're not (they're not). The same thing is true when it comes to right and wrong. Not everybody admits it or recognizes it, but truth exists in moral and spiritual areas just like it does in science or geography or math. Hating other people is wrong (true). Respecting other people is right (true). Honesty is bad (false). Generosity is good (true). Of course, some people say there is no such thing as truth. But that would mean every answer on a true/false test would have to be right. That might make it easier for you to get good grades. But it wouldn't make you any smarter, would it? REFLECT: What would life be like if things couldn't be proven "true" or "false"? Could you know whether to follow a friend's advice? Could you know how much a pizza really costs or how to build a model car? What would school be like? Could you learn how to do math problems or find out in which classroom your homeroom meets? In Psalm 119:30, the psalmist says he has chosen "the way of truth." What do you think he means? What else does he say in that verse? How are those two things related? Have you "chosen the way of truth"? Have you set your heart on obeying God's laws (with his help)? ACT: The next time you take a true/false test, remember that truth exists in moral and spiritual areas just like it does in science, geography, or math. PRAY: "I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws."