Tell the Truth

Having put away falsehood, let each one of us speak truth with his neighbor.      –   Ephesians 4:25  

Mary Ann Evans was an English poet, journalist, and novelist who wrote under the name of George Eliot. Her works often held psychological insight in her tales originating in the English countryside. One pithy saying attributed to her is, “Blessed is the man who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.” Perhaps you are more familiar with these words of Abraham Lincoln, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” Their thoughts aren’t original. King Solomon said the same thing thousands of years earlier, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (Proverbs 17:28). 

Most people talk, some very often and much. On occasion, even honest people exaggerate. At times, a half-truth might be employed to smooth over an uncomfortable subject. Today’s verse from Ephesians 4 begins a list of exhortations Paul lays out for civil living, which are important directions for the one who follows Jesus. Tell the truth. Be cautious with anger. Work hard and do not steal. Be sure that you build up and not tear down. Let go of bitterness and be tenderhearted. 

Pastor and author William Hendriksen wrote, “Lying is not only wrong because it makes light of the intrinsic excellence of the truth, but also because it causes trouble, friction, disunity and sadness in the church. The law of love certainly implies truthfulness.” It is not only a matter of not lying, but of taking control of your words to speak the truth, that you do so lovingly and gently, with the intention of giving encouragement to another. Such speech is supposed to become the lifestyle of believers. 

There is another old saying: “Like father, like son.” When Jesus chastised some of the Jewish leaders he said, “You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father’s desires. He… does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him” (John  8:44). The person who has been born again in Jesus Christ has God as his Father, the Source of all truth. “I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right” (Isaiah 45:19). 

The Lord has liberated you from the bondage of lies into a life of truth through Christ. As Jesus said, “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Pray for Christians in Congress to speak the truth, every time.