Truth and Love

Ephesians 4:15-16

“Instead, speaking the truth in love we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.” (NIV)

I have always been short… you know the front row in the class pictures, never able to reach anything on the high shelves. So my truth is that I am indeed shorter than most individuals. Sometimes the truth is not always presented in the most loving way. Telling someone they are fat or ugly… may be true but it isn’t loving.  Avoiding hard statements because we don’t want to hurt people's feelings may be loving, but many times people need to hear the truth.  In Ephesians 4:15, God provides this beautiful balance between the two concepts of Truth and Love.  Both are equally important if we want to grow in our relationship and walk with Jesus as well as within our body of believers.  How the church gets stronger is when every “supporting ligament” does its part in love.  How our relationships become authentic, purposeful and impact is when we develop this beautiful, but difficult balance.  We have to speak the truth to others.  We have to speak in a way that is loving so that people can receive our truth.  That is why both are so important.  It is the balance of a scale, equal on both sides..  We need to be honest, but in a way  people can receive it.  

You don’t have to look past your social media page or the news to find how drastically far we have skewed from the balance of God’s way.  Today’s culture is so vastly divided on this.  There are so many opinions flying around social media and the news that we have lost the concepts of both the truth and love.  God’s way is that we speak the truth in a loving way that helps us grow closer to Jesus as well as do our part to encourage the people that we do life with.  So practically that means before you click send, post or open your mouth you simply ask these two questions: 

1. Is it true?  

2. Is it loving?

Only if the answers are yes to both of those questions… feel free to speak, send or post.