And Nothing But the Truth

Those who deal truthfully are [God’s] delight. —Proverbs 12:22

Although all 'good' Brethren know that we will not "swear" to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, we will "affirm" to tell the truth if called to testify in court. But even if we're not in court, isn't this something that we should do every day? Should we tell ourselves every day that we will "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

Last night in my Anthropological Linguistics class, I am ashamed to say that I did not tell the Truth. While the class rallied against religion and Christianity specifically, I bit my tongue and didn't raise up the point of view that it is quite possible to be Christian and also appreciate indigenous languages and cultures. But it is hard. We are afraid... even in relationships, friendships, our daily lives. We're afraid of what others will think. I feel it gets harder the older we get, the more that we feel we have to lose by being 100% who we are... when in reality not being that is more of a threat than anything! Lord, give me the courage to always tell the truth and always tell the Truth... so that I may be Your delight. I so long for that, Lord... that is my only life goal... to be Your delight and to live to glorify You.

The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight -Proverbs 11:1

Yet truth doesn't just lie in what we say but also in what we do. The old saying goes that the Brethren was the one of whom "you didn't have to weigh his grain." Way back in the day in Pennsylvania when the farmers went to the store, they didn't have to weigh what the Duncar took. He was good to his word.

I pray that I may live in such a way that my word may be enough. Though nowadays we don't weigh grain, perhaps it is in your reliability to keep a promise, your constant prayer time, that be-where-you-say-you-will-ness. My old boss Mr. Scheuermann would always say, "You need to give people a fair shake."

Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. -2 Corinthians 4:1-2

And in Christ, we are a new creation. We renounce ways that might be harmful and turn to His ways. In Brazil, the church's motto is: Uma igreja diferente fazendo diferenca. (A different church making a difference.) And they are! How I miss them! We are challenged as Christians to live life in a boldly different way. Perhaps that means being a pacifist in a war-hungry country or living simply in a world gone mad with materialism, being loving when it is the hardest most inconvenient thing to do, or taking the hard road in a relationship when others could never understand that decision at all.

It's transparency. And transparency is scary, because it involves vulnerability. I think of the movie "Fools Rush In." Isa's mother tells her, "You'll never experience love unless you give yourself up to it." I think the same is true for Truth. You'll never experience Truth (of the Father), unless you give yourself up to truth.