SCRIPTURE: Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25 NIV
QUOTE: “This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure, as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address
THOUGHT: We’d probably all agree that, in the 1930s, the United States was quite a different country than the one we’re navigating today. In the first place, there was greater agreement on what was the truth and what was the lie. The Great Depression wasn’t ignored by the government or the media, it was faced squarely. Of course government wasn’t perfect, but fear was rampant and strong leadership made the difference. Although malnutrition was a problem, starvation was not. In fact, U.S. life expectancy increased and infant mortality went down. Figure that out, and compare it to Russia under Stalin or China under Mao who together are responsible for intentional famine that resulted in the death of upwards of 50 MILLION people.
I ended yesterday’s devotional with the antidote to mass formation (a social phenomenon where many individuals believe in an unreasonable narrative but are unable to think critically of it) put forth by the foremost authority on that subject: Desmet teaches that speaking truth, and continuing to speak truth is the only thing capable of breaking mass formation.
This is not rocket science – it is Biblical mandate.
The God who is spirit and truth inscribes “you shall not lie” with his finger in stone, and literally says, “do not love lying or half-truths; for all these things I hate (Zech. 8:17).” The wise Solomon says, “wisdom shouts in the street, she raises her voice in the markets (Prov. 1:20).” Jesus says both “I am the truth,” and “the truth will set you free.” Paul tells the Ephesians, “put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor.”
Truth isn’t just some kind of choice, it is the bedrock of human flourishing, something our Creator is the foremost expert on. This is not a good time to have a silent faith, it is a time to speak truth and break strongholds.
PRAYER: Oh God, call us to speaking truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth – and so help us dear God, to be like you.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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