~Real Guts~
The winner of “Girl Talk” by Nicole O’Dell is Bette! Congratulations Bette! Please email me your full name and address and we’ll get that right out!
Real guts.
That’s what it takes to be truthful, but do you ever find yourself saying:
“Nothing’s wrong!”
“I’m not mad!”
“It’s no big deal!”
Yet, inside, you’re crying, seething and aching.
Genuine friends tell it like it is. They aren’t hurtful; they aren’t hateful. They’re honest though. True friends recognize truthfulness as the foundation to long lasting relationships.
No honesty, no friendship.
If a friendship is based on falsehood, when hard times come, the relationship crumbles.
Believe me, I know how hard it is to be honest. I have gone to many lengths to get around telling those closest to me how I really feel. Fear of rejection whispered to me “the truth turns others away”. It wasn’t until I felt the Holy Spirit challenging me on my lying ways that I began to make changes.
Jesus commands us, “put off falsehood and speak truthfully”.“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” Ephesians 4:25 Follow his command and build relationships that last a lifetime.
Jesus, I am terrified to be honest. What if they reject me? Help me to fear disobeying you more and trust that as I am truthful, I’ll create long lasting friendships. Amen
You know, about a year or two into my marriage, I decided to stop lying to my parents. Or anyone else for that matter. It was about that time that things in my relationship with my husband became questionable. We are still married and I am willing to fight for my marriage, but there is no lying going on. It is really hard when the accusations that I am lying come up, though! You are wonderful for pointing this out to us ladies!
I think speaking the truth in love is one of the more misused concepts in the Bible. Real truth is Jesus and being like Him. It really does take guts to stand up for the truth and not in a condescending way. With in the Christian community I have had more than one time I spoke the truth, but didn’t have the “paper work” to back me up.
Now I try to let God decide when I will speak out and when I will remain quiet. I see myself speaking out a little more than before. I am guessing because the “paper work” that want to back me up is the Bible.