Being Always Honest

Ever been in an argument, and got the sneaky suspicion that perhaps you might be wrong this time, but pride stopped you from admitting it and you continued the argument nonetheless?

I don’t think that’s a particularly uncommon situation. I’ve certainly done it a few times and been tempted to do it many times.

What is it in us that can be so stuck, whether on pride or anger or jealousy, that we’re prepared to wilfully reject something we know to be true, in order to maintain whatever it is we treasure. What is it in us that can overvalue something to such an extent that it no longer matters whether something is true or not?

It’s a problem the Pharisees had with Jesus. They could see what he was doing. It was obviously good and merciful, but their own pride and jealousy and fear led them to accuse him and eventually to have him crucified.

I always wonder to what extent we might do something similar these days.

There are lots of people in the world, many of whom we won’t agree with, who nevertheless do good things. Now our disagreement with them may be small, for example the difference between a Pentecostal church and a Conservative church, or it may be more significant, say the difference between a Muslim and a Christian or a Militant Environmentalist and a Christian.

My concern is to ensure that we don’t let those differences, lead us into places of fear or pride or jealousy such that we can’t admit to truth and goodness when we see it. If someone does a good thing, let’s praise them for doing a good thing, no matter who they are or what they stand for. If an Angry Lesbian Anti-Christian, Pro-Porn Greenie saves a tree, let’s praise her for saving the tree. If a wild Pentecostal church with an apparent obsession with wealth leads someone to love Jesus, let’s praise them for doing so.

A great challenge in this life it seems to me is to be able to see difference, acknowledge difference, but not let that colour our perception of good and evil, truth and falsity, and be brave enough and generous enough to say so.

May God give us wisdom and grace to do this.