confusion on being honest...

now there is some confusion on being honest. remember in your words you must balance truth and love. it takes both. you speak it in love.

there are some people who use truth like a missile. they don’t tell you the truth. they aim it at you. we’ve all discovered that. that’s not what we are talking about.

there are other people who are just thoughtless. that can also hurt people. they’re just thoughtless with what they say. they say things like, “you do well for your age.” or “i can’t believe you did such a good job!” was that a compliment?

as i look at myself, it’s a lot easier many times for me to be nice than for me to be honest. yet as you study how JESUS spoke to people, HE wasn’t always nice. HE talked to a group of guys called the pharisees, religious leaders, and one day, HE said, “you guys are hurting people with what you’re saying. you’re a bunch of snakes and hypocrites.”

now that wasn't nice for JESUS to say that but that’s what HE said.

HE talked to a friend of HIS one day, simon peter, and said, “get behind me, satan!” HE said that to a friend of HIS. it wasn’t nice but it was the honest thing for what was happening at that moment. JESUS also had the power to encourage people with HIS honesty. HE did both.

the truth is, i have to decide and you have to decide: do i want to impress people or impact people? do i want to impress them with, he’s a nice guy! she’s a nice girl! or do i want to impact people with honesty, the life changing kind of honesty?

this is especially true with our kids. it’s true in our jobs. tom peters has said that the traits of a ceo who leads a corporate revolution is that he’s a straight shooter. he’s got a flat out attachment to the truth.

now i know that sometimes speaking the truth and being honest, we're not being honest but we’re really being hurtful. what’s happening is we’re verbally abusing the people that are around us. don’t excuse being honest with being mean. these words that can so much heal people can also hurt people.

remember ephesians 4.15 (niv) tells us how that honesty is balanced in our lives. speaking the truth in love. you balance truth and love. it takes both. you speak it in love. that what JESUS did.

just a thought from the front porch…