Always tell the truth

‘Nothing… impure will enter the city, nor anyone who… tells lies..’ Revelation 21:27 GNT

When it comes to telling the truth, here are two stories: (1) One morning a mother was out shopping when she bumped into her son at a shopping centre. Angry and alarmed that he’d skipped school, she demanded to know why he wasn’t in class. She listened patiently to his explanation and then replied, ‘I’m not accusing you of telling a lie, but I never heard of a school giving time off for good behaviour.’ (2) A dentist with a hypodermic needle in his hand says to a patient sitting in his chair, ‘You might feel a little sting. On the other hand, it might feel as though you have been kicked in the mouth by a mule.’ We smile, but the moral of these two stories is clear. Sometimes the truth hurts—but never as much as being told a lie. When you fail to tell someone the truth because you don’t want to hurt their feelings, you risk hurting them more. Truth is like a mirror; it allows those you love to see themselves as they really are and make the necessary corrections and adjustments. And when you fail to tell the truth about yourself you risk losing your credibility. When that’s gone it may take you a long time to get back, if ever. That’s why the Bible says, ‘Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.’ (James 5:16 NLT) When you open up and share your struggles, you set others free to do the same. And in the process you are both made whole. So, the word for you today is: always tell the truth.