By David ReayWednesday 29 Aug 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Ephesians 4:25
25 Finish, then, with lying and tell your neighbour the truth. For we are not separate units but intimately related to each other in Christ. (JBP)
Telling the truth is not as simple as we might think. Our text reminds us that we are not to lie. And the reason given is that lying fractures community, hinders relationship. If I cannot trust others, then life becomes very difficult.
But truthfulness is not the same as exhaustive or comprehensive openness. Telling the truth does not mean I have to blab out all I know on every occasion. Not all truth needs to be shared, and not all people have a right to hear each and every truth. I may think a meal a friend cooked for me is an offence to my taste buds, but that is a truth I keep to myself. The truth I know about someone’s private life is not to be shared with anyone who happens to ask me about what I know.
Truth can coexist with discretion. Telling the truth and keeping secrets are not contradictory requirements. Truth-telling is not gossip. I need wisdom to know what truth to speak, when to speak it, to whom to speak it.
The truth I can always tell without too much hesitation is to tell another person they are God’s much loved creation, worthy and accepted, much in need of mercy but offered such mercy. That is the best sort of truth-telling: the sort that builds relationship, enhances community, and breathes life.
Blessings
David Reay