Approaching Truth

Our attitude towards truth makes all the difference in the world in terms of its results in our lives. Here are some stances that can best maximize the healing, growing effects of truth:

Love truth: When people begin to see the value and understand that truth can improve, preserve, and save their lives, it is easy to love it. When you love something or someone, you pursue them because you want to be around them. There are two types of people who struggle in learning to love truth: those who have experienced harsh criticism, or those who have been hurt by inconsistent truth. These people are not sure that truth is to help them or to punish them. Truth is the self-expression of God, and God is full of grace (love and forgiveness) and truth. Loving truths from God and others helps those who have been hurt by harsh and inconsistent truth.

Endure the pain of truth: Truth is often hurtful and uncomfortable. Just like the surgeon’s knife, its healing power comes with pain. It is a most important and valuable task for all who seek to grow spiritually to learn to tolerate the discomfort of the truth, in light of its great power to help us. Here are a few of the painful experiences associated with the truth: facing the reality of our failings, living life God’s way instead of how we would like to live it, loving others when we are aware of their imperfections, having truthful conversations with people we love and care for, holding onto values and what is important to us when others judge us wrongly, and learning new ways that are not easy or natural for us in which to conduct or relationships.

Love helps the pain: The more we internalize love, the more truth we can take in. Love gives us the ability to tolerate difficult realities. Well-loved people can face their souls without becoming deeply discouraged. They have been rooted and grounded in love (see Ephesians 3:17). You will often find that over time the truths people work with are darker than those with which they started. For example, many people who start spiritual growth begin with an external crisis such as financial difficulties, health issues, divorce or other relational problems. It may look as if the person is innocent and is simply the unfortunate recipient of bad times or bad people. Yet, as they become connected, taught in God’s ways, and strengthened and do the work of growth, they take ownership of their part of the crisis and learn to solve it. The crisis goes away, but the growth doesn’t stop. We look inward, where there is more work to be done. Initially the truth that was too difficult to bear becomes the stuff of growth.

Be sensitive to truth and untruth: The more a person takes a stance towards truthfulness, the more discerning he or she becomes about truth or untruth. God designed for us to live in reality. As we immerse our lives in this, we see more and more clearly what is truth and what is not true. Darkness and light become more distinct from each other (see John 1:5). You do not have to be afraid of the truth, even when it hurts. Seek reality and become a person of the truth.

Be receptive to all styles of truth: People learn and grow in different ways. Some people understand logical truth more easily, while others do better with intuition. Truth is truth no matter where you find it. It is important to be receptive of all types of reality. This gives God and the process more freedom to work within us.