Today’s Devotional: “Truthing In Love”

Paul tells us not to be like little children in our understanding, being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but rather to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15a).

The kindest thing we can do is tell people the truth, which is a sign of a true friend. A true friend will tell us when we have something stuck between our teeth, or they’ll tell us the truth before we make a mistake.

If they don’t tell us, they aren’t true friends. Jeremiah calls them deceivers, and their tongues are like deadly arrows (Jeremiah 9:5, 8).

Unfortunately, many people don’t want to hear the truth because it’s so painful. But when we go to a doctor, the last thing we want is for them to sing, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” If we’re sick, we want the doctor to tell us what’s wrong and how we can get well.

But Paul doesn’t just tell us to speak the truth; he tells us to speak it in love. Showing kindness isn’t only in what we say but also in how we say it. So before we speak, let’s check our motives.

• Are we correcting others to put them down or to build them up?
• Are we correcting others for their benefit or ours?
• Are we correcting others to condemn or to protect?
• Are we correcting others to take another jab, or to apply soothing salve to the problem?

In the Amplified Bible, this verse reads, “Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly].” (Ephesians 4:15a)

What Paul is saying is that we need to be “truthing in love.”

Not only are we to speak the truth, but we are also to do the truth. Our lives need to be lived truthfully.

Truth and love need to work hand in hand for us to be effective.