Brief Answer:
Truth is as important as it gets—it determines whether your choices and goals will lead to the outcomes you desire, or to unexpected, unwanted consequences.

Detailed Answer:
Is truth important? Depends on the situation.

For example, there is a truth about whether eating that second piece of cake was a good idea, though you may not realize it for hours or days. In the grand scheme of things, the impact of this truth is likely small and insignificant.

But in other situations, the truth can have far-reaching and serious consequences.

  • Am I driving on “black ice”?
  • Is this a harmless skin condition or skin cancer?
  • Were the perpetrators of 9/11 deserving of honor?

Each of these questions has a real, true, yes or no answer, and very serious results when people make choices based on the truth of the answers. 

Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas create victims. If your beliefs are based on inaccurate or false ideas, both you and those around you will likely be victims. Reality has a way of catching up to those who choose comfort over truth, and it always delivers consequences, whether subtle or severe. You can see this play out in your everyday life, movies, music, art, the news, and more.

We all need truth to navigate life effectively. Some things are true, and others are not. The choices we make, whether based on truth or falsehood, will either bring the results we expect or lead to consequences we didn’t anticipate.

Every movie you watch or story you read illustrates the point: our choices result from our beliefs, which are founded on either truth, or incorrect understanding, and lead to so much of our experiences and life.

For example, what’s worth sacrificing for (as in the movie Braveheart)? Who do I get close to in my life (as in the movie The Notebook)? Should I go on the huge ship to start a new life in America … Or, maybe not (Titanic).

Whether a person stands on true beliefs about life and the world is as important as it gets.

The seriousness or importance of truth depends on the Quality, Quantity, and Probability (QQP) of how you will be impacted if not holding to true beliefs, as discussed in the Why Should I Care FAQ or blog, and shown over and over again in your favorite stories and in your daily life.