Written by Keren Soraia, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, Brazil
Our Lord says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32 NIV). I know this passage is talking about the gospel which gives us salvation and eternal life, but I also believe that it can be applied like this: when we speak the truth, we are free from the possible consequences of sin. When we find someone who tells us the truth, even if it is difficult to hear, we know that we can trust them. Therefore, when we speak the truth, we become trustworthy people.
I thought many times about how to approach this subject — what to say, how to say it. After all, talking about truth is not something our human nature is used to, instead preferring to hide behind lies or omissions, leaving us with the feeling that it is “better this way.” If I lie or omit this fact I won’t have to deal with that person or problem. Our life seems “easier” this way and we don’t notice the resulting problems and consequences. When we do notice, the lie is already a snowball so big that we have no way out other than to resolve the issue and bear the consequences.
Once at my old job, we received a large order for meat. I noticed that this order was taking a long time to come out, and if it was left in the freezer too long, the meat would freeze. Because I was not the supervisor at the time of this order, it was not my problem (yet). But when the part of my shift came when I took over as supervisor, guess what was still in the freezer: the meat. Minutes later, there was an angry customer on the phone. My boss asked what was happening, why the order hadn't been delivered, and an assistant manager asking what he was going to do, why the meats were frozen, and pointing out that if the customer canceled the order, the meats were going to be unsuitable for sale. I thought: what now? Why didn't I say anything—why didn't I resolve it at that time?! Even if it wasn't my responsibility, if I had resolved it, I wouldn't be going through this now. My consequences: stress, a warning, and personally paying for one of the meats that the customer didn't accept.
In the scriptures, we find these passages:
Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.” But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply “Yes” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Mt 5:33-37)
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. (Jas 5:12)
These passages talk about similar things such as not swearing by anything and especially by God, and that our yes should mean yes, and our no should mean no. I can't tell you how many times my mother quoted this text to me. I can still clearly hear her. At that time, I didn't understand why. But now I understand: my mother was using the scriptures to teach me about honesty and integrity. She taught me that if I said yes, it should mean yes, and that I should always keep my word so that I would be taken seriously.
Today, being honest and having integrity are such uncommon virtues that when we meet someone like this, it's unusual. They are laughed at, called naive, or told that they don't know how the world works, but that's how Christ calls us to be! We must be honest and have integrity not only concerning money, but with people, feelings, prayers, and especially in our relationship with God.
Having integrity and being honest and true to ourselves frees us from the bonds of sin and the fears that life brings, ready to be filled with the grace and love of God, and it prepares us to pass this grace and love on to others. After all, Christ interacted like this with everyone He met while He was on earth.
Are you and I willing to open our hearts, being true like Christ was?