Thursday, February 19, 2004
TRUTH-TELLING OR WHITE LIES?
Truth telling is important. A lot of places in God’s Word instruct us to truth telling—and the consequences for not doing so.
But there is a tough concept here: We don’t want to use cutting words that hurt—yet the Bible teaches truthfulness over lying. Truthful words are sometimes cutting words; lies are sometimes soothing words.
So, if we disapprove of cutting remarks and place great value upon soothing words, how can we live by these two apparent contradictions? Truth is often a costly and painful thing.
Some people resort to the “Theology of Niceness”. This simply means, “Be nice even if it is not true!” There are many examples of how this is carried out. In my next Blog I’ll give some examples I have witnessed. Some are pretty funny and some are pathetic!
We have created a society so devoted to kind and soothing words that it has substantially loosened its commitment to speaking truthful words. So as Christians seeking to follow Jesus we struggle: How to be kind and truthful at the same time.
That has always been one of the criticisms of Christianity by “outsiders”. They complain that Christianity says so many “bad” things about mankind. “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Roman 3:10); “All have sinned…” (Romans 3:23) Look at all the “Woes” Jesus pronounced in Matthew 23. Jesus said some harsh things. All these words are hardly soothing syrup!
So, how do we reconcile truth and kindness? How may we be both truthful AND healing? How can we tell the truth and still bind up the wounds? I don’t know the solution, at least not when it comes to practical application with my fellow man. I guess I am supposed to have it figured out but I don’t – at least not completely.
I do understand though that we must turn to Jesus for the answer. He is the one whom the Scripture says came to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted. (Isaiah 62:1 and Luke 43:18ff)
Yet Jesus also spoke the darkest words that were ever uttered to human beings who had hardened themselves in their sinfulness. Jesus came to both reveal the Truth and heal mankind. He showed that both truth and healing ultimately stand together.
How can this be? Because Jesus took upon Himself our tragedy. He suffered for our sins. So, in effect, Jesus says to us, ”The truth about you is that you have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the reason this cutting truth can be made into a healing truth is that I am going to suffer and die for you. I will take the suffering for those cutting remarks that you make. I will pay the price of the suffering which truth causes. I will die for your sins.”
A child breaks a window. He or she must be confronted with the truth—YOU broke the window. Then the parent says, “I realize you cannot pay the price to replace that window. I will bear the burden to restore what has been lost.”
So Christ says, “Let’s be honest about who you are and what you have done. Standing by itself, that truth is destructive. Standing along side the Cross of Christ, there is no truth that need destroy you.”
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) The Truth is Christ. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life….” (John 14:6) Jesus is the “Truth” who can heal us.
So how do I put all this into practice in my relationships? That’s a tough one. I will wrestle with this one a while longer. Hopefully I will come up with some practical applications to put in a later Post.
Jim
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