What do you do when you find yourself in a situation that challenges your beliefs? Do you cave to the pressure of the argument or do you stand firm in what you believe to be true?
Put another way, do you apologize for something you didn’t do wrong so the problem goes away?
I’ve always taken the path of resistance, not because I’m a masochist, but because God gave me one life and it would be a shame to waste it away always going with the flow.
Now, I’m certainly not the most easygoing man, but I’ve come to find out that we all have a mission. It would be so easy to just let things slide, to not care about telling people the truth, or to simply compromise our beliefs – go along to get along I think is the saying. But, I do wonder what purpose this would serve and to what end. Would you not be doing yourself a disservice? Would you not be robbing the world of the uniqueness God has created you for? I think so.
Don’t get me wrong, we should be humble enough to listen intently to criticism when it comes our way. God forbid we become so prideful that we ignore the very advice that would save us from falling off a cliff. However, I argue that we can both have this humbleness and still stand firm in what God has called us to do – and be. And so, how do we do this?
Say the truth regardless of the consequences.
It is really amazing what happens, and you will find that life is certainly an adventure when you do. For example, when I spoke up about my beliefs regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, I got everything from agreement to ridicule and almost lost my job. If your life lacks adventure, start speaking truth.
What is profound is that the words we speak often are a reflection of our heart. Matthew 12:33-34 (NIV) says, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit…. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” So, if this is true, what happens when we compromise our words? I’ll let you decipher that one.
There are two things that I want to warn you about though. The first is that we need to speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4:11-16 states:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 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. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 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. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The second warning is that we need to be prepared for argument. I find it best to understand logical fallacies and then figure out if the opposing viewer has committed one of them. From there, it’s quite easy to refute an argument as you can do “verbal jiu-jitsu” and strengthen your argument. For arguments that pass the verbal assault, consider them as they may be onto something.
When controversy comes your way, listen intently to what your accuser has to say. Be open to correction, but be careful not to compromise what you believe to be true.
I find myself in hot water from time to time and I make a conscious effort to contact the five closest people to me and get their thoughts and opinions on the situation. Sometimes those five people reach out to others they know for guidance. By crowdsourcing the problem, I can make a well-informed decision, not based on feelings, but based on reason and viewpoints not clouded by the situation.
So, are you going to say the truth regardless of the consequences? I encourage you to do so. Just be open to correction, do it in a loving way, and watch what God can do through you.