So there seems to be a belief among some Christians that says that you can be
excused for being a jerk as long as
you're proclaiming the truth. There's
even a derisive term that some people use against Christians who think that we
should be more gentle in how we voice
our concerns or our beliefs. They call
them "the Church of nice."
Now, there's a
legitimate criticism there if we're
talking about people who pander to
popular sensibilities or who lack
integrity when they are confronted with
beliefs that oppose Christian doctrine
but that's not being nice that's just
being craven. So I don't think we should
inadvertently ridicule kindness in place
of cowardice. CS Lewis called that
Christianity and water which I think is
a much more appropriate critical label
but if you're using phrases like that to
mock Christians who insist on speaking
truth and charity then I think we need
to revisit some of the fundamentals of
our faith. In 1st Corinthians St. Paul
reminds us that even if we possess
prophetic knowledge but don't have love
then we are nothing. And then he goes on
to tell us what the qualities of love
are - patience, kindness, not boastful,
self-serving, or jealous. So if
communicating truth is important to us
then we should ask ourselves why. Is it
simply to show off and inform people how
wise we are? Well, we already know what
the Bible says about pride and
boastfulness. Instead, we should be
motivated by a desire to help people
encounter truth and adopt it. After all
God is truth so the more we can help
people encounter truth the more we're
introducing them to God; which is what
Christians are called to do. But does
that give us license to speak the truth
under any circumstances or are we called
to show restraint sometimes? Well, if our
motives are to help people come to a
better understanding of it, I'd say that
truth needs to be revealed gently and
appropriately. So here's a perfect
example: imagine your aunt has been
gaining weight and you're a little
concerned for her health. Do you think it
would be wise to say, "Hey auntie you're
looking a little fat these days. Maybe
you should lay off that second serving
of pie." If your goal is to help her
accept something that is true so that it
can help her, then that is the absolute
worst way to go about doing it - even if
everything in that statement is true. In
fact that kind of presentation of the
truth would probably have the opposite effect.
So when we hide behind truth in order to
excuse behavior that could be considered
boastful, mean-spirited, or judgmental
I don't think God's looking down at us
saying, "Good job guys!" If anything his
example should help us to understand
this principle. After all, God has always
revealed himself to humanity slowly and
gently. This is true for us in our
personal experiences but also in the
broader context of salvation history.
Starting with the patriarchs of Israel,
God revealed himself in small doses and
it took thousands of years before the
chosen people were ready for the full
revelation of Jesus. In fact there's even
some evidence in the Bible that
encountering God in doses that we aren't
prepared for is actually dangerous. Like
in Exodus Moses asks to see God in all
his glory and God says that nobody can
see his face and live. So he prepares
this whole scenario where Moses has to
go hide behind a rock and he's going to
shield him with his hand while his glory
passes by. Any growth in knowledge
depends on gradual revelation.
You can't start doing calculus until
you've learned the basics of arithmetic
and progressed along the way until
you're ready for the hard stuff. Truth
must be introduced in portions that a
person can digest. So if you're a
Christian who wants to introduce people
to truths that have helped you in your
life then the way you communicate that
truth to your audience should reflect
that motive. Simply clobbering people
with truth with no regard for their
ability to receive it is reckless and
arguably incompatible with Christianity.
