“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” – Ephesians 4:29
The truth can either make you or break you. A harsh truth like telling someone they have been diagnosed with cancer or that they just lost a loved one is difficult to speak about. Harsh truth will leave guilt, shame or remorse on your shoulders. It will make you feel horrible on the inside and may even tempt you to speak a lie instead. Harsh truths are often times bad news and who wants to hear bad news? Bad news on a good day can ruin your entire mood.
But, a loving truth like finding out you got that promotion at work or hearing your crush confess their love for you, is not so difficult to speak about. This is because good news is not meant to be kept in secret. Good news is meant to be shared. Good news on a bad day will lift up your spirits and change your entire day for the better. All of a sudden the coffee that spilled on your pants no longer bothers you because now you have an excuse to go shopping! A loving truth will leave butterflies in your tummy and have you dancing in the rain.
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” -Ephesians 4:15
When the truth is spoken in love, no matter how much it may hurt, it is what needs to be said. The truth has the power to set you free. Often times, people forget this. They would rather speak a lie in fear rather than tell the truth in love. They fear of hurting others feelings or letting someone down. They fear they will be judged or disliked. The problem with this speech is that the more lies you speak the more your fear increases. The more fear you hold, the more lies you tell.
When a person tells one lie, that is one bad seed planted in their life. Bad seeds do not produce good fruit. As a Believer, you want to ensure you are planting good seeds all around you. So, even though the truth may be hard to tell, you know it still needs to be said because it will produce good fruit. You will never be in the wrong when you are speaking truth in love! Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future [Ephesians 4:2-4].