“Alternative facts” is a new phrase that’s been in the news a lot lately.

The phrase came about after President Trump’s relatively low attended inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2017.

Sean Spicer, the newly appointed White House Press Secretary, erroneously claimed that President Trump’s 2017 inauguration ceremony was the “most-watched inauguration” in history.

However, the ratings for President Trump’s inauguration were significantly lower than that of President Obama’s inauguration in 2009.

According to AOL news, coverage of Trump’s inauguration and celebrations reached 30.6 million total viewers across 12 live TV networks.

That statistic is 18% lower than the nearly 38 million viewers who watched President Obama being sworn in as president in 2009.

We’re not talking about a difference of just a few hundred people—we’re talking about a difference of over 7 million people!

After Sean Spicer’s claim was proven false once the ratings were published, Chuck Todd interviewed the U.S. Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, and asked her why the White House reported that Trump’s inauguration was the “most-watched” in history when it clearly was not.

This was the opportunity for the White House to come clean and admit their previous statement had been exaggerated. At the very least, Conway could have said they did not quite understand the ratings or had simply hoped at the time that it had been the most-watched inauguration in history.

However, Conway chose to instead defend the White House’s false statement by saying Sean Spicer had reported “alternative facts”.

Alternative facts?!

The interviewer responded, “Look, alternative facts are not facts. They’re falsehoods.”

He was being gentle. To be more succinct, alternative facts are not facts—they’re lies.

The whole idea of alternative facts is humorous and sad at the same time.

Humorous because truth is continuing to become more and more relative each day, to the point where 2+2 no longer has to be 4 if you don’t want it to be.

Sad because truth is continuing to become more and more relative each day, to the point where 2+2 no longer has to be 4 if you don’t want it to be.

Unfortunately, the victims of the lack of absolute truth are our children and the next generation.

What our society is gifting to the next generation is a false reality dangerously stating that truth does not exist whatsoever.

Anyone at any time can simply create “alternative facts” whenever they don’t like the truth with which they are faced.

The irony is that those who wish to trade truth for alternative facts are seeking freedom, but Jesus said it is truth that sets you free.

He’s right.

God’s Word can set you free from addictions, pain, guilt, shame, and consequences which you have earned. Because of truth, we have hope.

With no truth, however, we have no hope.

As silly as the White House’s “alternative facts” may sound to us, we have all been guilty of believing in alternative facts.

Each time we know the truth of God’s Word and choose to ignore that truth, we are essentially saying through our actions that what the Bible says might be good for some, but not for us.

We cannot pick and choose what to believe from the Bible. We do not have the ability to create our own database of alternative Bible verses based on what we want to live by, hear or read.

The truth is not truth because we say so, but because it is factual.

Two+2 does not add up to some other number simply because we say so. We cannot change facts based on willpower or demands.

Believe the truth. Speak the truth. Spread the truth. Don’t settle for cheap alternative facts and rob the next generation of their hope.

Be thankful for the fact that you have truth, and trust that it’s truth that sets you free, not alternative facts.

Do you agree or disagree? Join the conversation in the comment section below.