Daily devotional, October 26, 2023 The Truth Teller
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
One of the most famous fortune tellers in history was Marie Anne Lenormand. She was raised in a convent but she ran away and later on learned fortune telling through cards. Her loyal clientele included the wife of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, among other aristocrats of her time. She earned so much, and a type of contemporary tarot card deck was named after her. When she died, she left her enormous fortune to a relative, who burnt all her cards and divination tools as he is a devout Catholic.
Up to now, people from various cultures seek the counsel of fortune tellers to help them navigate their life issues, and predict their future. Unfortunately, these same people shun the real truth tellers in their lives, who only have their best interest in mind.
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." Psalm 1:1-2
Take a minute or two and think of the truth tellers you have came across in your life. These are the people who have told you objectively what they think of you, your actions, and of what may happen to you because of your choices. These could be your parents, siblings, an elder in the family, a friend, a teacher, a boss, or even a random colleague. Now think again, are these truth tellers still in your life? Do you still communicate with them, and how do you feel about them?
Most of the time out of guilt and shame, we get to antagonize the truth tellers in our life. Children rebel from their parents, siblings have friction with one another because of the ugly truths one spews against the other; friendships get broken when one seems overzealous to correct and rebuke. A teacher is branded as strict because she tells the truth about how the students behave. A boss is described as unreasonable because he chastises an erring underling. Villifying a truth teller is a tale as old as time, as most choose to hear what they wanted to hear, and shun the rebuke of well-meaning people.
King David had a truth teller in his life in the person of Nathan, his advisor and a prophet during his time. Nathan told David about his own wickedness when he committed adultery with the wife of his loyal soldier, and had this loyal soldier killed:
"Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites." 2 Samuel 12:9
Nathan did not mince words. He even used an analogy, and then later on blatantly explained what the analogy meant in the life of David. Fortunately, the king came to his senses and repented:
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." PSALM 51:10-11
Nathan took a stand, and did not care whether he was speaking to someone of a high stature. God sent him, and Nathan was concerned about David. Nathan wanted David to know that he is doing something gravely wrong. Nowadays, only keyboard warriors are callous about what another person would think about the message he wants to convey. The anonymity seemed like a pill of courage for them. But us? We sometimes condone sins and wrongdoings, just to avoid altercation and hurting other people’s feelings. Some parents even think twice about disciplining their children because their self-esteem and confidence might get bruised. But this should not be so. In his Epistle, St. James reminded Christians to rebuke those who may be falling to sin:
"Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." James 5:20
How about the presence of truth tellers in our life? Do we shoo them away? Do we cancel them? Like Nathan, John the Baptist was a truth teller who did not hold back the truth from a king who unlawfully wedded someone else’s wife. Unfortunately for him, King Herod beheaded him on the request of the daughter of his new wife.
"His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother." (Matthew 14:11)
You see, we have the power to keep the truth tellers in our life. We need them to remain on track in our spiritual growth. We need brave people who are willing to tell us when we are doing something ungodly. We need truth tellers who will lead us to the repentance that Christ requires of us:
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord," Acts 3:19
As they say, the truth shall set us free. And this truth is within our grasp: the bible tells us all of the truths we will need to know. God also uses truth tellers in our life to lead us back to Him. At the same breath we also need to be truth tellers ourselves. We should have the courage to be frank yet sincere in rebuking our fellow believers who may be falling into sin. This way, we can all rise again and spend Eternity with our King and Savior Jesus Christ:
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on 2 Samuel 12:1-16 and Psalm 51, to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Are you a truth teller? And do you still have in your life, the truth tellers God has blessed you with?
Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for sending truth tellers into my life. Forgive me for the times I may have despised them when they tried to correct me. Allow me to accept their sincere rebuke so that I could go on with my journey to your heart. Lord, allow me also to become a truth teller myself, and have the courage to sincerely correct those around me who may need to get back on their spiritual sojourn towards you and eternity. I love you my Jesus, Amen.