If you're in the business of telling the truth, it can be a funny thing. Most truth-tellers are the sorts of people that have the obvious staring at them, and at least it appears no one else has noticed. He takes no special note of those who have a vested interest in keeping things as they are; he has a higher obligation.
If you didn't know, I believe I am one of those people.
The unique challenge is that an even higher obligation exists: to love as God loves. These things are closely related, of course. You can't love anyone by telling them lies, even comforting ones. Jesus is Truth Himself, so when you speak the truth, you are leading someone to Jesus.
Still, we can be so fond of "telling it like it is" that we believe our own hype, that somehow the world needs us, and our special brand of frankness. Dear friends, we could be dead in the next few moments. Every time I see a sad post on social media about a sudden death, I am reminded. It is simply foolish to believe that any order we can bring to disorder, any fight that we can make against the forces of evil, really has anything to do with us at all, ultimately.
In light of this, how silly does a man look, when he has already risen above where his talents would take him, by the mercy of God, and he wastes that precious platform chattering about others' failure to meet his arbitrary standard of reasonableness or sanity?
If I had a chance to meet the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, (D, MN) I might have known he was one of the most liberal elected officials in the US. I may have been given an opportunity to share with the Senator where his philosophy transgressed the moral law. Maybe. If he asked me outright. In that unique encounter with an actual person I am meeting for the first time, my slapdash opinions about his politics would take a backseat to at least trying to know and love this person in the best way possible. We think small talk is a waste, but it isn't. It's not only a way to build trust, it's a way to receive it. Anyway, were I to behave as though Paul Wellstone were waiting for me and my brilliance, I doubt we'd talk long.
What do we do if a person makes a career of this arrogance? What if the truth-teller becomes intolerable? Never forget: even now, we walk the line of friendship and challenge. Some care nothing for friendship.
If you didn't know, I believe I am one of those people.
The unique challenge is that an even higher obligation exists: to love as God loves. These things are closely related, of course. You can't love anyone by telling them lies, even comforting ones. Jesus is Truth Himself, so when you speak the truth, you are leading someone to Jesus.
Still, we can be so fond of "telling it like it is" that we believe our own hype, that somehow the world needs us, and our special brand of frankness. Dear friends, we could be dead in the next few moments. Every time I see a sad post on social media about a sudden death, I am reminded. It is simply foolish to believe that any order we can bring to disorder, any fight that we can make against the forces of evil, really has anything to do with us at all, ultimately.
In light of this, how silly does a man look, when he has already risen above where his talents would take him, by the mercy of God, and he wastes that precious platform chattering about others' failure to meet his arbitrary standard of reasonableness or sanity?
If I had a chance to meet the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, (D, MN) I might have known he was one of the most liberal elected officials in the US. I may have been given an opportunity to share with the Senator where his philosophy transgressed the moral law. Maybe. If he asked me outright. In that unique encounter with an actual person I am meeting for the first time, my slapdash opinions about his politics would take a backseat to at least trying to know and love this person in the best way possible. We think small talk is a waste, but it isn't. It's not only a way to build trust, it's a way to receive it. Anyway, were I to behave as though Paul Wellstone were waiting for me and my brilliance, I doubt we'd talk long.
What do we do if a person makes a career of this arrogance? What if the truth-teller becomes intolerable? Never forget: even now, we walk the line of friendship and challenge. Some care nothing for friendship.
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