When is the last time you have felt the sting of telling the whole truth? That sting is followed closely by refreshment and peace…that lasts! Read Ben’s encouragement for us to keep striving to be truthful people.

Scripture

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Proverbs 12:19 

Reflect

Life is hard enough as it is and sometimes telling the truth can make it harder! It takes loads of energy just to keep our current status; whether that be in school or work, on a team, in relationships, or just socially.  

Why on earth would we willingly choose to make things any more difficult for ourselves?  

This train of thought probably isn’t foreign to most of us, especially when we’re confronted with a situation where telling the full truth means throwing ourselves under the bus.  The Bible teaches lying is wrong, not just because of the harm it causes, but because of the dishonor we bring to God by acting in a way contrary to His own character we are meant to reflect.

Here are a few things to put into practice as we seek to imitate God’s truthfulness, even when the truth isn’t good news.

• Tell the full truth – The easiest way to separate yourself from most of the world is to simply tell the truth.  God calls His people to be holy, set apart from the ways of the world. Don’t share a version of the truth.  When you speak, share the full truth.  Don’t leave room for anything else to “come to light at a later date” making you out to be a liar and deceiver.  Strive to be a righteous person who loves truth and hates falsehood.
• Take responsibility – Excuses are easy to make and it’s easy to shift blame. What’s difficult is having the humility to own up to our mistakes.  Whether we fear consequence or a damaged reputation, we will gain respect and maintain our integrity by accepting responsibility for our actions and knowing when we need to repent and ask forgiveness.
• Accept discipline – He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding (Prov 15:32). Discipline is certainly not fun, but it allows us to reflect and learn from our mistakes.  It’s good for us. The Lord disciplines those He loves and heeding His correction keeps us on the right path.  

Every moment of temptation is an opportunity to demonstrate the value of Jesus above what tempts us.  When we say no to an opportunity to save our own skin through a lie, we are placing greater value on something else.  It is then, that moment of temptation becomes your greatest opportunity to declare to the world what is most valuable in the universe and to declare the worthiness of Christ.

Camper Corner

Next time you make a mistake, come clean and take responsibility for your mistake, even if it means you’ll probably get in trouble.  See how people respond.  Are they shocked by your honesty? How can you point people to Jesus by just being a person who tells the truth?