Speak The Truth To Others – It’s What God Wants Us To Do
Word-of-the-Day: ‘<God said through Zechariah to the Israelites,> (16) “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; (17) do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.’ (Zechariah 8:16-17)
Americans, sometimes to our detriment and to the detriment of others, are usually polite and quiet, often to avoid confrontation or ‘hurt feelings’. We see others making mistakes or doing wrong, but we don’t speak up as we don’t want to offend or upset others. The oft-quoted example of ‘Do I look good in this? Should I wear this to go shopping (or to church)?’ is often asked, and I will admit that when my spouse asks this question to me, my thought is sometimes, ‘That’s looks awful and it makes you look like you’re wearing a big, disheveled beach towel wrapped in seaweed.’ But the words that come out of my mouth are, ‘It looks wonderful, dear; if it’s comfortable you go ahead and wear it.’
I also have to admit that sometimes that answer is not only to make her feel good, but for me to observe others who are thinking like I am, but say the same words that I sputtered out. I then get a sensible chuckle out of it, and my spouse will eventually look in the mirror and draw the same conclusion. She will then ask why I didn’t tell her the truth, and I admit my motives, and am forced to make my own lunch or dinner as penance. (Usually, for the entertainment value, it’s worth it.)
Over the years, though, I am now more inclined to tell her the truth, ‘Nope, go change into something less ‘disheveled’. She expects me to be honest and truthful, and the Lord does, as well. Our spouses don’t want to go out in public wearing something unappealing or sloppy, unless they purposely mean to do so.
In the broader context of our society, the attitude of avoiding confrontation or hurting the feelings of others have led to cascading consequences. After World War II, as our nation was rejoicing over our victories and our standing in strength globally, we didn’t want to ‘rain on the parade’. Parents wanted to give their children more than they had growing up; the war and the Great Depression before it had most living in want and no parent wanted their children to experience that. It also led to the credence of advocates who spoke to avoid administering discipline for children’s misbehavior, to allow children to express themselves.
Instead of speaking and pointing out Biblical Truths (‘Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.’ Proverbs 13:24) society turned away from the Bible and strayed away from the Truth as it turned into the ‘anything goes’ philosophy many hold onto today. We didn’t say, ‘that’s not right’ when people turned to unchecked drug usage, sexual promiscuity, and criminal behavior, and these became, slowly but surely over time, normalized. We try to justify this behavior by explaining it as ‘freedom of expression’ or ‘free choice’, but some of it was for our own ‘entertainment’; ‘let’s see how far they’ll take it’.
We now realize they’ve taken it quite far, to the point where we have people believing they can be another gender or even species, even ones that don’t exist. Adherence to laws and respect of others’ rights are thought of as suggestions to be ignored or pushed aside unless it bolsters our selfish desires. Self, such as self-pleasure, self-gain, self-happiness, is more important than common good or the good of the nation. Removing the proclamation of God and His Truth has led to this.
As Believers in Christ, we need to start speaking the Truth again. Truth is required to return our society back into Righteous pursuits, toward the Biblical Worldview of Christ and away from the Secular Worldview of Satan. If it is wrong, do not be afraid to speak up and say it is wrong. Start with being truthful to our spouse and those around you. The Truth doesn’t have to be given bluntly or harshly, only in corrective love and sincerity. For many, the lack of correction has led to their destruction; the lack of common sense implies there is none and that is often true as some never were given the opportunity through correction and constructive criticism.
Zechariah 8 is a promise God made to the Israelites that He would restore them to peace, but it is based on the if/then statement God made to them as far back as Moses and the creation of the Levitical Law (in paraphrase); ‘if you obey God, and hold onto and speak the Truth, then you’ll be blessed and in peace; if you don’t obey God and live in self-righteousness and false teachings and beliefs, then you’ll be cursed and live in despair, disruption, and turmoil.’ God has made it clear to live in His blessings we must not fear in hurting feelings, but be constructive and truthful in our critiques of others and speak about Him, His saving grace through His son Jesus, and the Truth. Speak out, speak up, and be His spokesperson.
