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As Christians we should always be seeking truth. We want to grow in our understanding and ability to explain what we believe is true because we know that the truth sets us free. However, the bible doesn’t just tell us to speak the truth, rather it says we must speak the truth in love.
So what could this look like?
When we are having a conversation with someone, it is important that we seek to understand them first. To show love to someone means you treat them as you would like to be treated and all of us want the chance to be listened to and understood. In the book of James, we are told that we should be slow to speak but quick to listen. This is a huge part of showing we value the person we are talking to and that their perspective matters.
Francis Shchaeffer once said, “If I have only an hour with someone, I will spend the first fifty-five minutes asking questions and finding out what is troubling their heart and their mind, and then the last five minutes I will share something of the truth.”
That may sound extreme, but if we follow that principle, those 5 mins of words will say much more than what even an hour of words could say if they’re not what the person needs to hear at the time. Every human being is unique and complex and for our words to have any meaningful impact on their life, we must seek to understand them in humility first. We must speak the truth in love.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for Today. For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz