Tell the Truth

 

 

There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth. ~Maya Angelou

 

Every so often, I’m confronted with questions about “the Truth.”  I often hear people say, “the truth is” or “the fact of the matter is” or “to be honest.”  Over the course of the past few years, I’ve begun to think that truth is really about perception.  Frankly, to keep in the vein of being truthful, I think I shall write more about that later.

I’ve met a lot of people who pride themselves on their honesty and truthfulness.  But you know what?  When push comes to shove, I’ve learned that they often obscure the truth.  They only share measures of the truth.  It’s the point at which black-and-white becomes grey.  Even more, it may show what good actors they are as they share white lies or soften the blows of the difficult truths they seek to avoid sharing.

 

Dissapointingly, I’ve learned that I cannot always reveal a whole truth all at once.  This can apply to deep things of biblical study and church history, or even personal truths.  Only portions are digestable a bit at a time.  A whole truth can choke and kill.  But does that make me untrustworthy?

 

For that matter, what if I’m unable to handle the entire truth all at once.  I’m aware that I, too, am in the midst of birth pangs of a new creation not yet revealed.  Maybe I hold the truth from myself.

 

Recently, I found my way to a blog post by Rachel Held Evans.  In it she reflected on a conference I wish I could attend called “Epic Fail Pastor’s Conference.”   (Note:  In my humble opinion, scheduling such a conference days before Holy Week begins surely destins the conference for failure.)   The concept behind “Epic Fail” got Evans to thinking about the things that pastors wish they could talk about with parishioners but feel they must avoid for a variety of reasons.  That spurred the thought of parishioners who are hungry to hear the truth from their pastors.  She wrote:

Dear Pastors, 

Tell us the truth. 

Tell us the truth when you don’t know the answers to our questions, and your humility will set the example as we seek them out together.   

Tell us the truth about your doubts, and we will feel safe sharing our own. 

Tell us the truth when you get tired, when the yoke grows too heavy and the hill too steep to climb, and we will learn to carry one another’s burdens because we started with yours. 

Tell us the truth when you are sad, and we too will stop pretending. 

Tell us the truth when your studies lead you to new ideas that might stretch our faith and make us uncomfortable, and those of us who stick around will never forget that you trusted us with a challenge. 

Tell us the truth when your position is controversial, and we will grow braver along with you. 

Tell us the truth when you need to spend time on your marriage, and we will remember to prioritize ours. 

Tell us the truth when you fail, and we will stop expecting perfection. 

Tell us the truth when you think that our old ways of doing things need to change, and though we may push back, the conversation will force us to examine why we do what we do and perhaps inspire something even greater. 

Tell us the truth when you fall short, and we will drop our measuring sticks. 

Tell us the truth when all that’s left is hope, and we start digging for it. 

Tell us the truth when the world requires radical grace, and we will generate it. 

Tell us the truth even if it’s surprising, disappointing, painful, joyous, unexpected, unplanned, and unresolved, and we will learn that this is what it means to be people of faith. 

Tell us the truth and you won’t be the only one set free. 

Love, 

The Congregation

I cannot leave the subject of telling the truth without referring to a quote that always moves prominently to my mind.  In the movie “A Few Good Men,” Tom Cruise’s attorney character examines Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup.  The attorney shouts that he deserves the truth.  Jessup explodes:  “You can’t handle the truth.”  (Warning:  the link has the unedited footage from the film and therefore contains offensive language.)

 

What are your thoughts on telling the truth?  And if your pastor gave you full, honest answers to these questions, how would you respond?

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. ~  Albert Einstein