Healthy, Honest, Helpful

Perhaps if you are old enough you might remember an episode of the old television program, “I Love Lucy,” one in which Ricky made a bet with Lucy that she could not tell the absolute truth for a specific–though brief–period of time. The idea was great fodder for the script writers, and there were some hilarious but predictable mishaps as Lucy found herself forced to give her real opinion about everything from the ridiculous hat one of her friends was wearing to the ill behavior of another friend’s child. When finally rebuffed for her excessive candor, Lucy countered that she had never felt better.

There are some real benefits to telling the truth. Of course, there are times when decorum and good taste might prevent us from sharing everything we think. Who besides a comedy writer would suggest that one’s every thought should be expressed in unrestrained speech? On the flip side, honest and forthright communication might not only be the healthy thing to do; as it turns out, it is also biblical.

Paul the Apostle was often reminiscent of his Jewish heritage when he encouraged believers of the early Mediterranean churches to “speak truth” with their neighbors. Jesus himself taught his earliest followers that if someone offended them, they should go and speak to that person one on one. Healthy patterns of communication are as vital to the mission and work of the gospel as they are to the success of any marriage, or for that matter to the working of our systems of justice or international diplomacy.

It seems simple enough, but it isn’t always. Rather than confronting someone face to face, it seems just a little bit easier to talk to someone else about it first. It’s kind of like a fresh jelly donut sitting next to a Brussels sprout. The donut is much sweeter, the aroma more tempting, and the gratification more instantaneous. It’s just easier! There is sweetness in an affirmation when someone nods agreement with what we have said.

A wise soul once defined gossip as the imparting of information, whether true or false, to someone who is neither part of the problem nor part of the solution to the problem. I don’t suppose that any one of us has ever understood the power of our own words; power to build or to destroy. And I don’t suppose that anyone has ever learned this lesson in any way but the hard way.

Paul’s vision for the church was one of a healthy body working together like a symphony of muscles, joints and ligaments. Healthy speech is the strengthening exercise of that body, and the beauty of it is that the more we do it, the easier it gets!

Advertisement