“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” -Ephesians 4:15

As Christians, I think the number one reason for why we lie is because we don’t want to hurt people. Whatever mistake it is that you’re carrying, you fear that it’s going to hurt your loved ones. Or, you feel pressure to do a lot and be a lot — to be strong. You feel like it’s not the servant thing to do to tell you spouse, parents, or kids that you have these needs, so you just bury them. You tell yourself, “my opinion is negative so if I share it, I’m being a negative person.” That’s not true. You also say, “I can’t be honest about how I feel upset about this because it will hurt their feelings.” Well, that’s not true, either. Well maybe it will hurt their feelings, but they’ll live and they’ll be okay. We struggle to say no because the thing we’re being invited to is so good. But you can’t do everything. You can’t do everything and still have the energy to do what God has called you to do.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me always promote truth. Even when it may hurt.

REFLECTION: Do you often fear that the truth will hurt the people around you?