Presenting ...
... a weekly letter of encouragement.
Singapore
June 19, 1996
Good Morning!
THE PRICE OF TELLING THE TRUTH
Just how important is upholding the truth to you? What price
are you willing to pay?
There are times when we need to lay the truth on the line. Tell
it like it is. Stand up and be counted. Regardless of the
cost to us personally.
Of course, the name of the game today is: "To
get along is to go along." "Don't rock the boat."
"Go with the flow."
The Scriptures however, tersely remind us that deceit is not
an option for the believer:
"The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men
who are truthful." (Prov.12:22)
"...Those who practice lies... - their place will be
in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." (Hell) (Revelation
21:8b)
Stanley Hauerwas makes this startling observation,
"The ministry seems captured in our time by people
who are desperately afraid they might actually be caught with
a conviction at some point...that might curtail future ambition."+
A rare breed, these people who choose to speak the truth even
at great personal expense:
* John the Baptist fearlessly admonished King Herod concerning his adulterous relationship with his sister-in-law. Consequence: Beheaded. (Mark 6:17-28)
* Micaiah the prophet courageously warned King Ahab
against his wishes to not attack Ramoth Gilead. Ahab, knowing
Micaiah's commitment to telling the truth said of him, "I
hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me..."
Consequence: Prison sentence (aborted however,
in the 11th hour by Micaiah's fulfilled prophesy). (I Kings
22:8-27)
QUESTION: In business and the professions where duplicity,
deceit and compromise are standard fare, are
you willing to be identified with that rare breed of believers
who courageously live and speak the truth without concession?
Whatever the personal cost?
The world around us desperately needs such people. AND CHRIST
EXPECTS NOTHING LESS FROM US.
I trust you are having a great week!
Dwight Hill
+"First Things", (May 1995, page 41)
© Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
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