Swaturdy Devotional...To Tell the Truth

                                                    ...it is still necessary to count the cost

My freshman year of high school, back in 19_ _, was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I had been one of the quietest in my class in elementary school, and this would be a chance for a new, more outspoken me.

I had spent a lot of time listening, and learned that the popular kids were the ones who could make everyone laugh. There was one classmate who really had a way with words. He was very tall and very thin; wore glasses and had no interest or athletic skills to sharpen. So he sharpened his tongue.

After his words sliced through the air, and possibly into someone’s heart; he would push his glasses back up his nose and say, “I’m just telling the truth.” And we would all laugh, though some of us had to hide the fact that we had been cut by his words, even though they had been aimed at someone else.

How often have I allowed myself to “tell the truth”, no matter the cost? If I got a laugh, I scored some points, right? I thought that way for a long time. Until I started listening to what was really being said. What I said and what others said to me. When I acknowledged that my words were unkind. That my sense of humor was hurtful at times. The points I thought I scored meant nothing, if the laughter is covering pain or shame. If the words I use are ones that I would not want said about me by the people I trust, the “points” are negative.

This effort to eliminate unkind words from my conversation has left moments of silence at times. I have even been asked if I was feeling alright, because my motor mouth had been idling more often. And in those moments of wordlessness, I have been given a wonderful gift. I am hearing more of what others have to say. I am listening and learning about other people’s perspectives and different points of view. I am hearing the “still, small voice” much more. And He is telling me that He loves me.

If we are to love others as ourselves, we must find time to hear the voice inside. This is the voice that tells me how to love myself, because He created me. This voice may be speaking to you, but is muffled by the sounds we fill our days and nights with.

We can learn to love the voices around us, as we learn to use the voice inside as a filter. I do not have to react to the words I hear with words that hurt. I can use what God says to me to speak to the world around me. I can tell the truth and speak in love, if I wait for Him to speak His love into me before I speak.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,

 but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,

 that it may benefit those who listen.”

Ephesians 4:29

Written by Lynda Kinnard