When speaking the truth...

How is the truth being spoken?  Is it spoken in love or is it being screamed from a street corner with a bull horn or worse yet, from a pulpit by a screaming, spitting pastor?

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,  I have become a gong or clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1

From my own history, I can tell you that I was used to receiving what I believed to be truth without love…and often, that’s how I spoke the truth, as well.  I come from a highly dysfunctional family and it’s all I knew.  I thought it was normal to be critical, mean spirited and overbearing in “truth.”

When I became a Christian and began attending church, it seemed normal to have the truth yelled or screamed at me from the pulpit.  But when I truly began to understand the love of God, this yelling and screaming didn’t make any sense to me.  I began to question where the love was in it.  I can understand being passionate and intense in explaining something, but when it leads to someone yelling, screaming and pointing fingers at those who they consider sinners and calling other denominations cults simply because they believe they have the right to…I cannot stomach it.  I don’t want to hear a word that is being said.  I have been in church services where people, who felt the same way I did, got up and walked out.  There is no love in this type of message, even if there is some truth in what is being spoken.

So, yes…when speaking the truth, speak it in love.  The old saying, “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” speaks volumes.  Truth…speak it in love or don’t speak it at all…please?!

 

Just because you stand for what you believe...

Just because you stand for what you believe doesn’t mean you don’t love sinners.  Speak the truth in love, love the sinner. 

If you’re a Christian, persecution comes with the territory to a greater or lesser degree depending upon where in the world you live.  If we stand up for the truth of what God says about living a moral life, we’re persecuted. 

When Jesus told the Pharisees that whoever was without sin to cast the first stone, He was defending a woman who had been caught in adultery.  Jesus then spoke to the woman and told her to go and sin no more.  He spoke the truth to her in that she shouldn’t commit the sin of adultery any longer.  He was loving and kind to her.  He didn’t shy away from speaking the truth to her in love nor did He condemn her or, being the only One without sin, He didn’t stone her.

This is how we should, as Christians, handle similar situations.  In the times that we live in now, it seems that we can say that we’ve nearly seen it all…there’s nothing new under the sun.  There are some crazy things going on in our world and when we need to stand up for the truth, we need to speak the truth in love.  In 1 Corinthians it says that if we speak with tongues of men or angels but we don’t have love, we are like a clanging gong or cymbal.  Annoying!!  Speak the truth in love, but know that not everyone is going to like what you have to say.  Persecution is everywhere and should be anticipated.  Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.   Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.   But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” John 15:18-22

Don’t condone sin.  Speak the truth in love.  Know that we will be persecuted.  Remember that God is with us.  His grace is sufficient to get us through all things!