“You can’t handle the truth!” is a memorable quote uttered by Jack Nicholson from the 1992 military court drama film “A Few Good Men.” This expression is often used to deny someone information in efforts to spare their feelings.
The Bible speaks about telling people the truth, but it does not stop there; it also says the truth should be given in love (Ephesians 4:16). Some people brag about being brutally honest, but honesty should not be given with brutality. In fact, it should be given with its opponent: love. It is not so much that you are trying to spare the person’s feelings, it is more that you are trying to help the person by giving them vital information that may change their course of action.
Creating a loving, non-threatening environment when you must give someone a hard truth will make it a little easier on the ears. When we speak the truth in love it is not just that we approach the person with a gentle demeanor. Truth and love must go hand in hand. Because you love the person, you tell them the truth. Doing this in a kind and inoffensive manner will help the truth be more readily received. When a person is offended, they immediately become defensive.
Being able to receive hard truths about ourselves is a step towards maturity. Hearing the truth, especially about yourself, is not always easy. It takes some maturity to realize that the person is only doing it because they love you and are not trying to attack you. Maturity helps us take a step back and process what the person is saying to us instead of retaliating. A mature person wants you to tell them the truth even if it hurts their feelings. They would rather you not spare their feelings than you keep the truth from them. The truth will help a person improve. If we learned to tell and accept truth, we would not spend so much time doing things we do not want to do because we were afraid to tell a person the truth.
Today truth is not valued. People will stand in court and swear or affirm to tell “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” and immediately begin to lie. People make promises and vows but never intend to keep them. Imagine how different the world would be if people told the truth. Telling the truth can be liberating because you do not have to expend energy trying to cover up or pretend. You can be yourself!
Think about it, a person who consistently tells you the truth is a person you trust because they have no hidden agendas. They have your best interest at heart. On the other hand, with a person that is not truthful with you, you never know where you stand with them and it is difficult to maintain a relationship with them.
Above all let us not forget to look to the Lord who is the author of truth. He gave us the hard truth about our human condition, but He did not leave us there. He demonstrated His love towards us. This is what the Lord desires of us – that we speak truth to one another and, most importantly, do it with love.
AMEN. GOD BLESS