OK, I know that just about six entries ago, I went into this whole dialogue of how I lie and manipulate people. Well check out the date. I wrote that almost two years ago…I’m not that person anymore. In fact, I’ve spent a lot of prayer and energy (in that order) to be sure that I never become that person again. Though I had the best of intentions, I wasn’t honest with anyone, including myself. But isn’t the first step to recovery admitting that you have a problem? So I’m patting myself on the back for taking the steps to letting the truth set me free….so now it’s your turn.
I don’t think people believe in the truth anymore. We are so desensitized to honesty that we don’t recognize it when we see it. Maybe it’s because honesty is rare and the truth has become a passing fad. When we hear or experience something that sounds even remotely like it might be true…we wait and listen for “the catch,” before we will even begin to think about accepting it. We have all experienced an event or series of events which have led to a hardening of our hearts…and this way of thinking is nothing new…
“…they are hopelessly confused…their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. Ephesians 4:17-18
My love language is Words of Affirmation. If you’ve read the book, The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, stop reading right now and go buy it. I promise you won’t regret it!!
Words are important to me…so I try not to use them haphazardly. Does that mean that everything that I say is right and that I never use my words to hurt or slander…I wish it did, but I started this entry with the fact that I’m not a liar…so… No.
I use words to say things that I later wish I could take back. I try not to, but it happens. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not an honest, truthworthy person. It just means that I’m human. By the same token, unless I have reason to believe otherwise, I trust and believe that what people say to me is the truth…that doesn’t mean I’m not wise and discerning, it just means that I listen carefully and trust that they mean what they say. I do my best to speak the truth at all times. I don’t choose to live this way because I’m overly optimistic or naive…I live this way because I’m called to do so…
I don’t think people believe in the truth anymore. We are so desensitized to honesty that we don’t recognize it when we see it. Maybe it’s because honesty is rare and the truth has become a passing fad. When we hear or experience something that sounds even remotely like it might be true…we wait and listen for “the catch,” before we will even begin to think about accepting it. We have all experienced an event or series of events which have led to a hardening of our hearts…and this way of thinking is nothing new…
“…they are hopelessly confused…their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. Ephesians 4:17-18
My love language is Words of Affirmation. If you’ve read the book, The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, stop reading right now and go buy it. I promise you won’t regret it!!
Words are important to me…so I try not to use them haphazardly. Does that mean that everything that I say is right and that I never use my words to hurt or slander…I wish it did, but I started this entry with the fact that I’m not a liar…so… No.
I use words to say things that I later wish I could take back. I try not to, but it happens. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not an honest, truthworthy person. It just means that I’m human. By the same token, unless I have reason to believe otherwise, I trust and believe that what people say to me is the truth…that doesn’t mean I’m not wise and discerning, it just means that I listen carefully and trust that they mean what they say. I do my best to speak the truth at all times. I don’t choose to live this way because I’m overly optimistic or naive…I live this way because I’m called to do so…
…So from now on there must be no more lies. Speak the truth to one another. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians 4:25, 29
I didn’t write it…Paul did. And like Paul, I have been wounded and jaded in life. Like Paul, I have said and done things that I do not look forward to having to answer for when I meet my maker face to face. But like Paul, I have been blinded by the love, the grace, and the mercy of the one who sets my days before me and always speaks the truth. Jesus chose every word carefully…and he spoke the truth in love. I choose to do the same...I will speak the truth...the question is...will you listen?
