Life Development Toolbox - April 06
In this issue
-- Comment
-- Toolbox Quotes
-- The Bible Says
-- Further Study
Welcome to the latest edition of the Life Development Toolbox. This month
we are looking specifically at the Tool of Truth
Comment
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TV once showed a sketch of John Cleese walking down a street towards another
man who made some smart-alec comment to the actor about Fawlty Towers. John
had obviously heard the comment many times before and it had long since
lost it’s humour. Cleese draws a gun and shoots the man dead. A bystander
looks directly at him and says, “You’ve shot him!” John
Cleese looks at the corpse and somewhat sheepishly turns to the bystander
and says lamely, “Well, only a bit!”
Pilate, no doubt rhetorically posed the question, “What is truth?”
It appears to be a somewhat weary reflection on life where people all around
are shading the truth, manipulating facts to fit their take on things. Manoeuvring
positions with the use of words to engineer our preferred outcome is the
political malaise of our times as well as in 33AD. Over the years the justice
system, mindful of our ability to distort the truth, has devised an appropriate
oath – the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The following
procedures are usually littered with anything but!
The distressing thing for us to reflect on is that, to a marked degree, life in our churches and Christian circles is tarnished by our leanings towards worldly spin and disinformation – we have to a certain extent caught the disease and need the antidote.
Jesus displayed total disregard for His own safety and dedicated himself to not only speaking the truth but being the truth. He calls us to follow Him irrespective of the outcome. His loyalty to His Father’s standards led Him into confrontation with the religious leaders of that day and finally to death by their hand. This, seen as a victory by His adversaries, actually released the truth that has been setting millions of people free over the centuries since.
There are nearly 80 references in the gospels where Jesus said, “I tell you the truth” – probably the most reported phrase Jesus used and by their reporting of it, we see that this phrase was one which the disciples were very much aware of. The fact that He only spoke the truth and declared Himself to be the truth left an indelible mark on these followers of Jesus. Did He always speak the truth? Yes, but it could be said that at times He withheld the truth. We see Him deflecting the issue with His answer to the question, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” The reply Jesus gave was in fact a masterful response to people who were engaging in exactly the sort of behaviour we are highlighting here.
On another occasion, in John 16:12, He tells his disciples that He has much more to say to them, but “more than you can now bear.” We see here that Jesus was conscious of the disciples needs at the time and underlines the requirement for us to be very much aware of the feelings of others. We will be most effective at that by taking to heart the directive to “speak the truth in love.” If we could truly do that, we would see the end to many squabbles in church life that distract us from the main purpose of our existence. Every church should exist for those who are not yet part of it – our call is to not only proclaim the truth but be the embodiment of truth for others so that they see Jesus in us.
Who will you see today? Will you be the truth to them in love, wanting only to bless and encourage them even if this is detrimental to your own position and comfort? May it be so for the glory of God and for the extension of His truth on earth.
Toolbox Quotes
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“Truth that is not experienced is no better than error and may be
fully as dangerous” – A.W. Tozer
“I have often stated that I am determined not to tell a lie, but I
often pray mighty hard that I won’t have to tell the truth either.”
- Brother Andrew
The Bible Says
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“Stand therefore – hold your ground – having tightened
the belt of truth around your loins, and having put on the breastplate of
integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God” - Ephesians
6:14 (Amplified)
“Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves,
and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth
in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is
Christ.” – Ephesians 4:14-15 (NIV)
Further Study
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1 Sam. 16: 1-5 – Consider the issue of truth in this passage. How
did Samuel remain true to God and his calling whilst still being afraid
of Saul?
Joshua 2 and Hebrews 11:31 – Study the issue of truth in Rahab’s
story and consequent approval by God.
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