Yesterday, a friend asked my opinion of a matter. I was uncomfortable answering honestly because I didn’t think that we had the same thought on the subject, and I didn’t want to offend or make waves. I started to answer, and she interjected, “Tell me the truth. Don’t dance around it”. I was called out and gave the most honest and truthful answer I could possibly give. It brought to light, exposed my real thoughts on the subject.
Oh, how we can dance around the truth. Why do we do that? Probably for a lot of reasons, but in my experience, I have realized that sometimes the truth exposes the real thing and sometimes the truth hurts. And because the truth has the power to expose, I tend to hide it because I think I am doing everyone a favor by doing so. But in the end, it’s the hiding of the truth that causes the most pain and destruction.
The Bible encourages us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) in order that we grow into a mature body of Christ. Paul exhorts the church to do so just after he encouraged the church to walk worthy of the calling they received (Ephesians 4:1).
Acknowledging the truth exposes the lies. In so many situations, I have hid the truth that is in my heart because I believed the lie that what I had to say would only offend or hurt people, that it would cause confrontation that would divide rather than unify. But the lesson I have learned today is that hiding the truth doesn’t benefit anyone. Speaking truth will always grow us.
What the truth of the resurrection of Christ had been hidden? Who then would be able to live in the freedom and joy of forgiveness and redemption?
Today, I am thankful for the truth and I acknowledge that there are so many lies that I have believed. I thank God today that truth exposes those lies. I thank God that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), telling me that there are other ways I could take, lies I could believe, leading to death. Truth, spoken with love, is always intended to grow us, to mature us as believers in Christ.
What is the truth that you are thankful for today? Lets pray to God, thanking Him that there is a truth and asking Him to guide us in His truth and teach us, for He is the God of our salvation; the God we wait all the day long (Psalm 25:5).
Thankful that the Truth sets us Free!!