Day 2547 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Proverbs 26:28 NIV
We've been taught to think that hurting someone's feelings is the worst thing that we could do. So many things are considered hurtful and offensive anymore that it's almost impossible to navigate through the chaos of it all. The world has us scared to speak the truth because the truth is considered hurtful. And if it hurts someone's feelings then it simply can't be loving, can it? Well, at least that's how our society has grown to see things.
It's gotten to the point that most people would rather be lied to because it just doesn't hurt. Lies don't carry the same weight as the truth does. Lies can be manipulated in order to mean whatever we want them to mean. Lies can be constructed to seem kind-hearted and loving on the surface. Lies allow us to continue living in this delusion where everything is perfectly fine, nobody makes any mistakes, and there are no problems that need to be addressed. No room for improvement.
Complacency has become our goal and lies just helps us get there. But what so many seem to be forgetting is that while the truth hurts, it only hurts because it makes us better. It doesn't allow us to be complacent because it forces us to acknowledge the areas we need to work on and the problems that we've been trying to avoid. And that's one of the biggest problems our society is facing: nobody seems to want to improve. We've just settled for where we are and we're okay staying put.
That's why anyone who comes along and has the audacity to tell us the truth and move us off of our comfort zone must hate us. They don't want us to be happy. They don't love us enough to tell us we're doing just fine as we are. They hate us so much that they want to point out every flaw, every weakness, and every issue that we need to address. How can someone love us if they think we could be better?
Can you see where it's all gone wrong? Love doesn't afford someone the ease of staying where they are and calling it good enough. Christ, who is the living embodiment of love, came to earth to help us see how broken we'd become and show us how to live better. He came along side of us in our sinful ways of living and called us to lay all those ways down and learn from Him instead. He led the way to something better than what we had chosen to settle for. That's what love does.
So while this world has gotten this whole thing backwards, we need to realize that true love doesn't want people to settle for less than they're capable of. True love isn't willing to sacrifice potential for comfort. True love won't overlook the issues, ignore the problems, or sweep the weaknesses under the rug. It gets down in the dirt and helps someone start climbing out of that pit. There is no love in a lie. Lying to someone only proves that we don't care enough about them to help them see that they could be so much better.
Please don't confuse the pain of truth with hatred. Lies are the epitome of hatred because they’re willing to settle, to compromise, to concede. True love will never give up, will never stop trying, and will never settle for anything less than the absolute best. Those who are willing to lie to others to avoid hurting their feelings are more worried about what someone wants to hear than what they could become. Christ didn't settle for what we wanted. He called us to what we can be and won't give up until we get there.
If you truly love others, tell them truth. A lie won't help. A lie won't lead to improvement or growth. Loving others is about striving for the best and never settling for anything less than that. Some may not like us for speaking the truth. But for those who actually want the best for themselves, they'll appreciate the help that only the truth can provide.
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