Speaking the Truth

Do you recall a time when someone lied to you? Maybe you didn't know it right away, but only later found out about it. How did you feel? Betrayed. Angered.

While our words can be used for good, they can also deceive. Oh, yes, we talk about those little white lies. We might tell such a lie to save face or eleveate someone else. If we tell one little white lie, it can easily snowball into more and more lies. That's just the nature of not telling the truth!

The Eighth Commandment commands us not to bear false witness against our neighbor. This commandment is directed toward our words. We are to speak the truth, especially when it comes to defending our neighbor.

At all times, we must be aware of what we are saying. Jesus said, "But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Matthew 5:34-37 Jesus seems to be saying that the necessity of an oath means that we might not always be telling the truth!

As we do speak the truth, even "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15), we are manifesting Jesus' love to others.

What about your words? Where would you reside on an index of truth-telling? Do you ever feel like you have to lie to justify yourself? What might be some standards we could adopt that would help us to make the difficult choice to tell the truth?