"Hear The Truth"

"Open rebuke is better than secret love." Proverbs 27:5

When I used to go to the recovery center and have church service, they would have something they called "feelings check". This particular week you could tell some of the clients were not "feeling" very happy.  They shared with me that they were unhappy with one of the counselors. Evidently, the day before she was honest with them about their problem and told them some things they didn't want to hear. I cautioned them to beware of people who always told them what they wanted to hear.

Someone who really cares about you will tell you the truth. They won't "sugar coat" everything just to make you feel better. If there is a problem they will let you know. This is what the Lord did where we were concerned. Jesus didn't come to earth and tell us how wonderful we were, on the contrary, He told us how sinful we were and in need of a Savior. He pointed out that we are sinners, that we were going astray, and that we were separated from the Father.

He never hesitated to tell the religious crowd that they were hypocrites, that they were blind leading the blind, or that they were in danger of the judgment. He spoke the truth to them- not the "praise" they wanted to hear.

His words were not to condemn us, they were not to destroy us, rather they were the words of truth spoken out of love. He loved us so much that He would come and tell us the truth, even though we don't always want to hear it.

Be open to hear the truth. It may not come wrapped up in a flowery package. It may not be sugar coated. It may not tickle your ears. It may seem hard, harsh and not easy to swallow. But remember, it's the truth that will make us free. Anything else will deceive us, does not really care about us and does not have our best interest at heart.

Have a great day. The truth is sometimes hard to swallow because it's not always what you want to hear, but it's what you need to hear.