As 2023 comes to an end, like most people, I have been contemplating the coming year. I don’t have any resolutions, or a “word for the year”, but I am thinking about things I want to do better than I did this year. Unsurprisingly, my theme doesn’t seem to be changing much. I still feel deeply passionate about the correlation between truth, justice, and love. For me, it’s more powerful than a correlation though, it’s like they are interwoven into a beautifully perfect picture of the depth and complexity of God’s love. Which is why I find it so surprising that people get so cautious about the idea of speaking truth. (If you are someone who has been offended in the past by my propensity to speak what I believe to be truth, and I didn’t do it in a way that you felt was loving, stick with me. Please grant me the opportunity to prove that I am growing in this area.)
The Bible says God is love and in John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” God is love and Jesus is truth, the two cannot contradict each other. However, when I bring up love and truth, a lot of people react as though they do contradict each other. Some say it’s better to “err on the side of love (or grace)” and they disagree with those who lean towards the side of truth and justice. This line of thinking always leaves me feeling quizzical. I think truth and love are so deeply connected that you can’t have love without truth, and there is nothing unloving about truth. Granted, the truth can be spoken totally void of love, but you cannot fully love someone and withhold truth from them.
What happened in the church to cause this rift? When I meet an unbeliever who is skittish at the idea of speaking truth, I wonder what they experienced to make it so unattractive? Has the church been separating truth from love for so long that they are now seen as polar opposites? Or maybe it’s a scheme of the enemy. Maybe he has us convinced that if speaking the truth hurts someone’s feelings, that it’s not loving. Pretty clever strategy. But the phrase, “The truth hurts,” came from somewhere, right? If the truth was comfortable, we wouldn’t all be so opposed to it now, would we?
The Bible has a lot to say about truth, it’s an interesting study. Psalm 15:2 talks about, “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart.” Zechariah tells us to “speak truth to each other” and to “love truth and peace.” Ephesians 4:15 says, “Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” And in 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
We can see truth and love are beautifully intertwined. Unfortunately, the following verses seem more relatable to our world today:
Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes prey. Isaiah 59:14
This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord it’s God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Jeremiah 7:28
Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. Jeremiah 9:5
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie. Romans 1:25
…and truth was thrown to the ground. Daniel 9:12
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:10
In Isaiah 59 we see the direct connection between justice, righteousness and truth. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t share a few more. =) In the same chapter, Isaiah says, “No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil… The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace…. Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
Life looks extremely grim without truth and justice. Are we really loving our brothers, or the lost, by withholding truth from them in an effort to “love” them into the kingdom? What if we rewire our brains to believe that truth is love? God is love, Jesus is truth, they are one and the same. John 8:32 says, “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” How will people be set free without the truth? We must learn to speak the truth in love even if we suck at it at first.
During covid maybe I was like a toddler and fell on my face time and again. I’m sure I could have done it better and I will strive to do better. But, maybe we need to consider that speaking the truth, even in love, might not always be comfortable for the hearer or the speaker? What if we need to consider the difference between speaking the truth “with love” and speaking the truth “out of love.” I used to be an avid snowboarder. Now I’m just an average snowboarder, but I digress. The really dangerous slopes were always marked “off limits.” There wasn’t a nice little sign that said, “You’re amazing and you can do whatever you want but maybe don’t go this way. Unless you really want to. But just so you know it’s a little dangerous.” That would be like speaking the truth “with love.” In reality, the deadly slopes were clearly marked with DANGER signs, and sometimes roped off, because they didn’t want people to get hurt. Period. They didn’t sugarcoat it. They didn’t need to. If they told me I could die going that way, I generally didn’t contemplate my decision for very long. Truth is a powerful motivator. I do think there is a time and a place to speak the truth with love, but we also need to see that sometimes we must speak the truth plainly, out of love.
Eph 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Did you know that in Mark 6, John the Baptist confronted Herod about his sexual immorality?! Herod wasn’t even a Jew or a believer. He did not consider himself under the law and yet John felt compelled to call him out on his sin.
I know I’ve said it before, but I think we are loving people to death. Quite literally. They could very well end up in hell if we don’t point out the danger signs. To clarify, we are over loving them with the world’s definition of love anyway. God’s love is so much deeper and more complex. If I’m walking past someone who is in the process of turning down one of those deadly slopes, I’m not going to be like, “Hmm, I don’t want to hurt their feelings… if that’s the way they want to go…” No, I’m going to say, “Hey, that’s not the path you want to be on.” Why are we letting so many people go down the wrong path out of fear of hurting their feelings? Maybe there are other signs pointing down that path, promising an amazing view, or an unbelievable ride. Maybe people are convinced that the first sign is exaggerating and that it’s not that dangerous. Am I going to back down and be like, “Ok, if that’s what you really want…” Again, no. I will continue to speak truth to the lies.
Hear me out, I know real believers aren’t opposed to the truth. But I do think we all have separated it from love to some degree or another.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about his letter of correction (speaking truth), and the godly sorrow it brought the church. He says, “this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” The Lord disciplines and corrects those he loves and that produces a godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
Hate evil, love good; maintain justice…. Amos 5:15
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24
What a beautiful picture! It’s the exact opposite of what we saw in Isaiah when the world was void of truth. I hope you hear my heart. I’m not trying to correct anyone; I don’t have it all figured out. But I believe with everything in me that it is our job to speak truth to the lies of the enemy. If we don’t, who will? John 8:32 doesn’t say “love will set you free,” it says, “the truth will set you free.” My heart is that we can become the loving truth bearers that the world so desperately needs.
Prov 28:23 One who rebukes a person will afterward find more favor than the one who flatters with the tongue.
Prov 24:25 But for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight, and good blessing will come upon them.
John the Baptist called out the government leaders even though they didn’t consider themselves under God’s law. Jesus called out sin in believers and unbelievers alike, because he loved them. My goal this year is to try to better understand the fullness of God’s love and to love people more deeply, more fully. I aim to continue to speak truth to the enemy’s lies, with love, and out of love. =)
Seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
Wander More 