Presenting Truth

Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.


As believers in Jesus, we are commanded to be as truthful as we know how to be.  Never are we told to lie about anything.  In a truthfulness, being that blatantly honest does not necessarily win you any accolades or rewards.  In many cases, the truth being told is reviled and scorned, and you, the messenger, end up being at the end of a scathing attack.  The truth is not something everyone wants to hear.


People generally become most offended when the truth presented bumps up against the way they see things.  When a truth is presented that contradicts their own view, it puts them in a position where they have to admit that they may be wrong.  We humans tend to have a lot of pride, and are not willing to concede the possibility of being wrong. 


It may very well be that the truth being told will go up against where another has put all their hope and trust.  The truth is not just offending pride in this case, but is rattling the very foundations of what another is holding on to for dear life.  The truth threatens to tear down their entire view of the world and destroy all that they were putting their trust in.  And if it was an only hope, the person is afraid that there is nothing else left to hold on to, that all hope will be lost. 


In either case (or any I missed), truth brings out a negative response from the one who is offended with it.  It triggers a fight or flight response as a defense mechanism.  Often times both occurs.  A person confronted by a truth they do not wish to hear will fight the idea, and try to ruin the credibility of the messenger.  They will try to deflect this truth and make it about the messenger.  They may just dismiss it altogether so as not to have to deal with it.


I think this issue can be summed up well when we look at the 5 stages of grief.  The 5 stages of grief are commonly accepted as follows:
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance


When a person is first confronted with a truth that contradicts them, they will go into denial, and then anger rather quickly.  They don't like the truth.  they don't want to hear that truth.  They are offended by that truth.  They will lash out against it.  This is where most of the conversation ends.  People usually end the conversations at this point.   They will say something like, well, we will just have to agree to disagree. 


The bargaining stage is something that may or may not occur later on.  They may take to heart the truth that has been told, or they may just go back to denial and move on.  This is where the Holy Spirit is at work.  As someone wrestles with truth in their mind and heart, they are no longer wresting with the messenger, but the message.  They have begun dealing with the truth.  They might slip back and forth with more denial and anger, or slip ahead into depression, but that is part of the bargaining. 


The depression stage is where one gives up the struggle.  They are not angry any more, they can't deny the truth, and they can no longer negotiate or argue it away.  They know what the truth is.  They are now there.  At this point they either shut it all of and go back to permanent denial, or they move on and accept the truth, embrace it, and go with it.


In the end, this is what truth does to us.  Whether it is the truth about our mortality, which is where these stages were coined after, our salvation, or whether it is some other truth we are confronted with.  As messengers of truth, believers are often dealing with the front lines, or the first stages in the above process.  Sometimes we are put in a position with friends or relatives where we can be involved in assisting with the other stages.   As ministers of God, sometimes we are brought in during the bargaining and depression stages to assist in moving on to acceptance. 


In the end, truth is what matters.  We can't shy away from speaking the truth.  We can't be afraid of receiving the wrath of others for sharing truth.  We are servants of the Most High God, and it is He who is doing the work, through the messengers, and in the lives of those who hear truth.  We are to just be obedient servants and speak the truth in as much as we are given it, and to do so in as loving a way as we know how.  It is not easy, but obedience is always rewarded in some fashion.


Acts 26:25
But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.