Truth with Love

Hey everybody! I hope you’re all doing well! It’s now less than 2 weeks until Christmas! The time just continues to fly by, but maybe that’s because I’m really enjoying my time here at Word of Life. You know how they say that time flies when you’re having fun! I recently bought the board game, “Catan”. I like the game a lot and played it a lot with my family, but it was quite expensive, so I was wondering if it would be worth the cost. It’s totally been worth the investment! I’ve already played a number of games with staff and students and the fellowship and enjoyment that you get when you play a game like that with other people is great! Sometimes, things cost a fair amount of money, but they are completely worth it. “Catan” is just a really fun game too. I’m thinking of getting some of the expansions in the future. If you want to have a fun time with family or friends, I encourage you to play a board game together and make sure to have some fun with your interactions. 😉 For me, personally, it’s been a great way to spend time and connect with people while having fun. Try it!

Truth with Love

With the heart of this post, I’m kind of jumping to a much more serious note. The issue that I’m about to bring up has been on my heart lately and I hope that it can give you some thoughts to ponder and consider. I also hope that it can motivate you to action even in just some small way. It’s really important because it’s about people. And people matter. The title of this post is “Truth with Love”. These two things should go together. Unfortunately, often one goes without the other. Specifically, I want to bring up some issues in this post. I want to do it because I believe it needs to be done, and I hope that as many people as possible read this post and the Holy Spirit is at work to move hearts in the right direction. Therefore, I encourage you to share this post if you find it helpful. Alright, here we go. Truth is good. It’s important we tell the truth and live the truth. Jesus, Himself, is the Way the Truth and the Life. Now, let’s bring it down to some specific issues. Truth says that getting drunk is wrong. Truth says that abortion is wrong. Truth says that homosexuality is wrong. As a Christian, I agree with all of those assessments and with what the Bible says about them. Speaking and living the truth is a good thing. Here’s the problem. Some people get stuck on concepts and trying to get everyone to believe them. As long as they can convince everyone that issues such as drunkenness, abortion, and homosexuality are wrong, they consider it a mission accomplished. Especially since Christians and unbelievers often disagree on these issues, it all becomes about a battle back and forth to win an argument. But, it’s not simply all about concepts. It’s about people. If we lose this perspective, if we drill the truth into people without love, we’ve essentially lost. It’s easy to look at these issues and judge them. Just remember that there are real people with real struggles associated with these issues. They know the truth and sometimes they’re tired of hearing it BECAUSE it’s without care, compassion, and love. Think about it. People who struggle with these issues are caught in the middle. The world tells them one thing, believers tell them another thing. Especially for a believer who struggles, this can be a tough place to be in. They already know the truth. Sometimes, they just need someone to come alongside and love them. Sometimes, it’s not even truth being spoken. It frustrates me greatly when I come across Christians who are hateful, hurtful, and condemning in their speech. It hurts my heart. It also damages the reputation and testimony of all Christians. Imagine how it hurts the people to whom it is directed. I would encourage you to be extremely sensitive in the way you talk around others as well. Consider a couple scenarios below.

Scenario 1

Imagine that you struggle with alcohol addiction and a fellow Christian who knows this offers you a drink. How would it make you feel?

Scenario 2

There’s a group of Christian friends in a room. The conversation turns to making jokes about sexuality. Meanwhile, a person in the room struggles with that exact issue. Imagine how that person might feel.

It’s never alright to make fun or make jokes about a person’s struggle. Think about how much it can hurt another person. Also remember, you don’t always know who that person might be, so just don’t do it. 
Let’s bring it to an even more serious level. There are a lot of people out there who struggle with these issues and their end is suicide. It’s tragic. Again, these are not just concepts we’re talking about. We’re talking about people. God loves people. We should as well.

I could go on and on about this, but I hope it gives you some things to think about. I want to finish this post on a positive note by mentioning a better way. A godly way. A way that honours God and respects the people who are made in His image. Truth without love doesn’t work. I haven’t really talked about love without truth, but it doesn’t work either. How can you be loving if you’re not truthful with people? It makes no sense. However, truth with love is a beautiful thing. If we are Christians, we need to stand against issues which are wrong, but we need to do it in a loving way. This means grace and love in truthful speech. However, I would suggest that we don’t simply just tell people the truth. We help them to live it out. We love them and help them through the struggles, the pain, and the hurt. If we can just get past ourselves and our own selfishness, think about how we can love people in practical ways. I just want to throw this out there. People who struggle with issues such as the ones I mentioned above often feel alone, disheartened, and discouraged. The pain can be great. If we truthfully show them their sin, but in a loving way that brings grace and hope, it can change their world. The most loving thing you can do if they are not a Christian is tell them about Christ and His payment on the cross for our sins. Also, show them a testimony of truth and love by the way you live your life. As for our Christian brothers and sisters, they need exhortation. They need to be shown the truth, especially if they are living a lie. However, they also need to be shown grace and love through the entire process of repentance and revival. 

I hope this has given you a lot of things to think about. I only touched on a few specific issues, but there are many other areas of sin and struggle out there as well where truth and love need to meet. My heart hurts for people that are struggling and in pain. Maybe you know someone who needs the truth. Maybe you know someone who knows the truth. In either case, this person also needs a lot of love. Will you bring truth and love together to this person?

Truth and love go together. How should you be loving toward people? The Bible says it a lot better than I can.

Bible Verses:

If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Walk in Truth and Love toward someone today. It can change a life.

(Also, God loves you! That’s truth! Always remember that!)