Your feel like your heart is pure, and your hands are clean. You speak the truth and are getting eaten alive verbally for your effort. How in the world do you stand firm when the truth hurts those who hear it?
You may feel alone, but like Elijah, you’ve never been close to being abandoned or forsaken!
Standing strong when quitting is easier
We are in a current atmosphere where taking a stand for what is right can get a person fired, canceled, and even publicly humiliated. In 2020, companies worldwide spent about $7.5 billion on diversity, equity, and inclusion-related efforts, and that figure has grown every year since, with McKinsey projecting that it will double to $15.4 billion by 2026 according to Fastcompany.com
While billions are spent for inclusion, how can it be that if a person resists or stands up to those who are called tolerant, that the “educated tolerant” show anything but tolerance? I only point to the show The View and media outlets like it as a reference source.
As followers of Christ Jesus, we cannot be ashamed of the gospel. Negotiating with sin is not a part of what a faithful follower can do. When walking through deliverance, a quick negotiation with sin can have horrific effects, which could include re-demonization for those who have been set free from an unclean spirit.
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” (NKJV)
Biblical examples
Consider these mighty men who did marvelous exploits but were persecuted for having the guts to speak when the truth hurt:
- Stephen: When he spoke the truth, the mob became so angry that they lashed out to bite him! (Acts 7:54-55)
- Jesus: When Jesus spoke the truth, the Jews sought to seize him. (John 10:37-39)
- John: After standing up to Herod for having an affair, Herodias took offense at the truth and had John beheaded. (Mark 6:18-20)
- John Wycliffe: Before dying in in 1834, he translated the Word of God into a language for the people. Forty-three years after his death, the Catholic church dug up his remains and burned them for good measure! Sources: Christianity Today; HavenToday.org
How to Stand Like the Greats When Truth Hurts
How does one stand when the truth hurts? There are plenty of people who have died for a lie. There are suicide bombers, cult followers, and disillusioned atheists who are willing to stand on their particular cause or belief and not be moved. If they can stand, so can those who have a reason to be immovable.
Know the truth
It’s the truth that sets a person free. John 8:32
One of the beliefs that causes contention among churchgoers is whether a demon can influence a Christian. I was a believer with a spirit of fear tormenting the peace out of me. When I applied the Word and was set free, the truth did its work. A thousand scholars can tell me that it didn’t happen, but I am resting in the peaceful proof of the truth. Click here to see the workbook I wrote from my study on this truth.
Count the cost
Before releasing a truth that hurts, a person needs to gauge whether it is the time for that truth to be unleashed. For example, if a woman comes up to me and tells me she has been violated, I am not going to say, “Forgive so that you can be forgiven.” No, a better truth that heals for the moment would be to show compassion and say, “I’m so sorry. I care about you, what do you need right now?”
There is a cost to using truth as a scalpel instead of a healing instrument. There are times when the truth cuts like a double-edged sword, but we must count the cost of how the truth is used and apply it rightly.
Stand and Trust
Stand when that’s all you know to do.
Put on the full armor of God, and don’t take it off. Ephesians 6:13 There’s quite a bit of faith and trust involved in standing unwavering behind the truth. You’ll need the armor and some scripture in your belt to stand boldly. There have been many who have stood up for the truth for ten minutes, then when resistance comes, they quiver in their position. Having on the armor provided will keep a person planted!
Knowing what to say when the truth hurts
When I was in my twenties, an agnostic man questioned my faith. He said, “Your faith is only two-thousand years old, if it were the truth, wouldn’t your religion be as old as time?”
My ignorance caused him to mock me. I did not know how the God of Genesis was the God of the New Testament, so I could not speak truth I didn’t know.
Learn. Refuse to be ignorant
Instead of compromising integrity and truth, we must not be ignorant but know the truth and why we believe it.
- Know the truth. Even if you don’t speak it out, know it. John 8:32
- Be willing to be teachable. The truth will stand scrutiny. Psalm 25:5
- We aren’t called to spray the truth like a water gun. Jesus didn’t walk through town spouting everything He knew to be true. He lived truth. 1 John 5:6
- Know how to deliver the truth when you know it will hurt. That doesn’t necessarily mean sugar-coating it, but it does mean having a humble and loving heart that releases the power of the truth in a way that it is best received. John 16:13; Proverbs 25:11
When the truth hurts you
Is the truth going to hurt you? The Word of God is the purest form of truth. While it does an amazing job at purifying, correcting, and healing, the truth doesn’t always feel that way when it starts doing its thing!
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ESV
There is only one correct posture for receiving the truth. Often the response to the truth is to:
- Reject it
- Rise up at it with anger
- Deny it
- Ricochet it
- Ignore it
The best way to handle the truth is to receive it. Receive the sword of correction with thankfulness. Is it going to hurt? Probably so! But the truth sets the captive free. The truth heals, and it has power to break the most powerful bonds. To avoid the pain of the truth is to resist healing and restoration.
The truth is worth fighting for in every area of our lives. As painful as the truth might be, the residual pain of believing a lie is detrimentally worse.
When the Truth Hurts Aftermath
A woman I cared about became involved with a married man. Her excuse was that he was separated and would be getting a divorce. I was shocked at the amount of ridicule I came under when I gently said to this woman who said she was a follower of Jesus, “The Bible is clear about adultery. It doesn’t matter how this feels and who is encouraging you, the relationship with this man is outside of the will of God.”
I was told I was being too judge-y and should mind my own business. It would have been a lot easier to have never said anything. I thought about overlooking it, but my love for this woman and what I saw coming spurred me on to lovingly and kindly speak to her.
Six months later, she called me crying. She said, “Lisa, you were the only one.”
I asked, “What are you talking about?”
“He has gone back to his wife. I am the other woman! You were the only one who told me the truth. Others in my church even encouraged me. I’m in so much trouble.”
I wasn’t glad to hear those words, but I will tell you what kind of fuel that call gave to my spirit. I took he hard hits for standing for the truth, but at that moment, every second and every scowl I received was worth it. My telling the truth opened up a future doorway for her to trust me.
Do I tell every adulterer, “Hey, you are sinning?” No, I do not. I’m not the Bible police. But, I do have to live, think, and believe the truth. Others benefit from my stance even when they do not realize the benefits are coming.
In the end, it is the truth that sets us and others free. We cannot forsake any part of truth without consequences far worse than experiencing rejection or persecution.
Proverbs 3:3
Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart. AMC
