I once knew a man who was funny, personable, interesting. He had traveled a bit; had a wonderful family. He wasn't the most popular guy on the block, but I liked him. There was just one thing: he couldn't tell the truth. Every time he told me about his weekend, or his latest project, he lied. Silly stuff, unnecessary lies (if any lie truly is necessary); lies to make it seem he had more money than he did, or knew more than he did. Over and over again as we spoke, I would validate him: "I like you ___," or "You are a really kind guy, ___;" I even went so far as to say, "I'd like you if you didn't have DUBs, ___." (And he didn't have DUBs, by the way -- still liked him.) I thought if I let him know he was safe, that the things he did or the things he possessed were of no importance to me, we could have a decent friendship. He didn't get it. I wanted to ask, "Why do you do that? Do you think any of that matters to me?" I wanted to tell him how insulting it was for him to think I was that shallow. How do you have a relationship with someone who is always pretending to be someone else? How do you have a relationship with someone who thinks you are someone else?
This afternoon, Mom was watching Gunsmoke; an episode called "Stark." In this episode, the character played by Suzanne Pleshette is scolding her brother for his part in a tumultuous relationship with their father:
"All he ever wanted from you was one truth. Just one single truth. So he could be sure he had a son and maybe you'd know you finally belonged some place."That resonated deeply with me, and got me to thinking about some of my relationships -- past and present. Truth tells us our relationships are exactly what they are -- good, bad, or otherwise. If you know someone really likes you, you go from there. If you know someone doesn't quite feel the same way you do, you just go. But it's truth that puts us on a level playing field and assures us we need to keep playing, or warns us we're better off on the bench. Truth keeps everyone safe -- the giver and the receiver. Even if the news isn't good, at least we're free of delusion or pretense. Truth is a gift.
And that brings me to the classic line from A Few Good Men:
"You can't handle the truth!!"The truth is not always pretty. The truth sometimes hurts. The truth can make us see something we've known all along but have chosen to ignore. The truth can be as difficult to deliver as it is to receive.
Humanity has known the truth, but some have chosen to keep it to themselves, to ignore it, to distort it, or to outright defy it. Truth tells us that we are not all we're cracked up to be, and that there is a larger, grander, more powerful Authority to Whom we must account. Truth assures us that even those these things are true, there is hope. In the Truth of the Gospel.
Take a long, hard look at who you are by the light of Scripture. Yes, it will be hard to handle. But if you can endure a few glaring realities about your own inadequacy, your own poverty of being -- and you refuse to cover those realities up with some ridiculous story to make yourself seem more than you are -- you will be able to see the hope, the freedom, the gift that is Truth.
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