Truth Without Weaseling

Truth Without Weaseling--September 6, 2018

"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by 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 one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, Yes,' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one." [Matthew 5:33-37]

The truth matters.  

Honesty matters.

And being able to be counted on when you speak, when you make a promise, and when you give your word to someone, all of that matters deeply.

These things should be obvious.  It should be able to go without saying that being truthful is not simply "important," but essential for living as grown-ups in the world.  And it is important to be able to say, "This is true, this is solid," about things, even when those solid truths are uncomfortable, or when they depict us in a negative light, or when they force us to see our own weaknesses.   I am not surprised when my children try to play games covering up who spilled their cup on the dining room floor, or when they stay they brushed their teeth but clearly have not--I am not happy, mind you, when they want to fudge with the truth, but I am prepared for that kind of childish self-preservation.  But among grown-ups, that kind of game playing is something we should have grown out of.  Truth-telling is essential for mature people, even when it is a hard truth.

But that kind of truth-telling is not only about being able to say, "Two plus two equals four," no matter how unpleasant it is to catch our own adding mistake when we had accidentally put it down as five, but also about having the courage not to leave ourselves weasel-room to give us loopholes to back out of our words once they are spoken.  That, too, is a matter of truth-telling and honesty.  And Jesus calls us on that, too.

When Jesus starts describing the sorts of things that matter to him in the Sermon on the Mount--the platform of the Reign of God, so to speak--one of the early values Jesus lifts up is this kind of truth-telling.  He teaches his followers to be of such integrity that you don't need to say anything more than "Yes--yes, that's how it is," or "No, that is not the case," without adding oaths or swearing vows to try and assure people your words are true.  And the flip side of that is also in view here, too--that we not hedge or fudge things so we can walk back our words if it turns out they get us into trouble.  (We all remember the circus that came out of the sentence, "That depends on what the meaning of 'is' is..." from the highest chambers of power a little over twenty years ago.)  

Of course, the objection wants to be raised: how will someone know you are really telling the truth unless you can underscore and emphasize the seriousness of your words by having to swear on a Bible or testify under oath?  How will we know when anybody really means what they are saying?

And this is the truly radical thing--that shouldn't have to sound radical at all--about Jesus' teaching.  Jesus intends us to be people who are always truthful, even when it is uncomfortable and even when it reveals our weaknesses, so that people know we are telling the truth any time our mouths are moving.  You have likely heard the old adage that originated from 12-step programs and recovery circles: "How do you tell when a using addict is lying?  Their lips are moving."  Well, Jesus intends to create an alternative community to that.  He intends to create among us a kind of integrity that others can take to the bank.  He intends us to live so truthfully and transparently that people will know we are being honest--because our mouths our moving.  In other words, we will not need to add lines like, "And this time, I mean it!" or "Can I be honest with you?" because we will be known always to be honest.  And when that trust is the grounding of our relationships, I can rely on you and you can rely on me.  When we know we can trust each other, love becomes more durable.  And at the very least, when others come to learn they can trust us, they will be able to rely on our word when we tell them about the gracious God we have come to know in Christ, as well.

What makes it possible for us to dare to tell the truth about ourselves, even when it is unpleasant?  What makes it possible for us to make commitments, "Yes," or "No," without wiggle words or weaseling to walk back our bombastic outbursts?  What makes it possible for us to be so real with other people that they will know we are being truthful?  In a word... grace.  Grace makes truth-telling possible.  Jesus' teaching about letting your "Yes" be "yes" and your "no" be "no" (a teaching picked up later in the book of James, so we don't get to wave this passage off like it's a one-off, or an exception) can only make sense if we know first that we are beloved and accepted--unconditionally, irrepressibly, and relentlessly.  When we know that there is nothing I can do or have done in my past that will disqualify me from God's love, when I know that there is no past track record or future failure that can separate me from the grip of grace, I can bear to see--and even to show--the unpleasant and unflattering truths about me.  We can bear to tell the truth, and to own my actions and words, because we know that grace has declared us acceptable and beloved with eyes wide open to all of them.  And grace says, "I love you anyway, all the same.  Now, let's face the truth together."

It is a shame--a literally damned shame, if you ask me--that ours is a time where we have to say things like, "Honesty matters," and "The truth, however unflattering, needs to be told."  These things should have been obvious.  But even if this is a moment that it needs to be said, let us say it with the knowledge that grace makes such truth-telling possible, and that the unconditional love of God makes us able to be honest with one another, since we know that we cannot lose such love.

Today, let us be truth-tellers, you and I.

Let us be of such integrity over the long haul, that nobody ever needs to ask anything more of us beyond our yes or no.

Lord Jesus, teach us to value truth like you do, in an era when it is treated like something to be packaged, spun, or hidden.  And give us such assurance of your grace that we can find the courage to be truthful, residing in a love that will not let us go.