“Do not fear the truth
hard as it may appear;
grievously as it may hurt
it is still right
and you were born for it.
If you go out to meet
and love it,
let it exercise your mind,
it is your best friend
and closest (friend) sister.”
-Dom Helder Camara
thedailylily.com 
The idea of “exercsing the truth” is an amazing one. I get from this quote that fear and the ramifications and emotional impact that the truth renders us stems from the fact that we are not so terribly familiar with the Truth, and don’t recognize it when we ‘see’ it or when we are faced with it. Many have skirted around the truth all their lives. They have developed deviously devised schemes that have taken on a life of their own and have substituted for reality. This is sometimes called self-deception. So from the quote I take it that truth must be exercised, like practiced, rehearsed, like one practices piano lessons over and over until that certain selection is perfected. It is painful to give up deceptive practices of the mind that feel so familiar and so comfortable and to face the truth about something or someone or especially about ourselves. We can all attest to the truth of the Scriptures. Of course, we know and believe the truth of the word of God. But what is the truth about ourselves. WOW! Who wants to unravel that ball of twisted yarn?
To begin to exercise our minds with the truth and embrace it as we practice the truth, sounds like the beginning of wisdom. For God is not only Wisdom but HE, is especially, Truth.
If we don’t do as this quote says, “fear the truth, meet and love it, let it exercise your mind” then it seems to me we don’t fear Jesus, love Jesus or allow Jesus to train our minds because He said He is the truth.
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6
I agree with MG and Debi, we are to practice telling the truth. I believe “The art of truth telling” is crafted in the fruit of the Spirit. I often sit with Christian friends and watch them lie, just purely plainly lie. I often wonder, do they know what they are doing? Do they enjoy their antics? Do they really think people believe them when it is so obvious they are lying? Do they get a secret high like maybe unto adultery. I at times try to craft a question hoping to give them an out to truth. And, most of the time they just tell another lie.
It is either true or false and what you practice is what you get. Hard to tell truth when you so often lie.
Just this week a man recovering from a very serious illness and still very weak was offered an opportunity to easily dump a truck load of tree debri, if he would just say, yes, I have a permit. But, he didn’t and it cost him a lot more energy that he didn’t have when he started. Oh, but he had plenty to spare when he told truth. Just to be in the presence of truth tellers is so rewarding with joy, hope, peace and love. It gives great energy to the tired body making for a very happy day. So Wonderful just like Jesus.
Great lesson on truth. Read with me some scripture and footnotes on truth. (John 8:32) “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Footnotes: “Jesus himself is the truth that sets us free. He is the source of truth, the perfect standard of what s right He frees us from continued slavery to sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. He shows us clearly the way to eternal life with God. Thus, Jesus does not give us freedom to do what we want, but freedom to follow God. As we seek to serve God, Jesus’ perfect truth frees us to be all that god meant us to be.”
Heavenly Father, help us “to go out and meet and love” truth. Forgive us when we forsake it. In Jesus name, Amen.
When one has the opportunity of being able to parent or teach children one has the vast opportunity of developing truth. When truth is developed in a child truth may rule over a nation or a town or a community. Even a church! I stop and think my son’s classmate is now my dentist. I sure hope he tells me truth. 🙂 I trust him because I knew him as a child and his family. They were and are truth seekers.
Needles gives the results above, “perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be.”
Right, Sara. Helping to develop truth in a child is an awesome responsibility. When children see and hear their parents (and/or) teachers fudge, (that is LIE) many, not all, but many tend in that direction. Learning to tell the truth is taught in the cradle. When one of my little students owns up to an infraction, even if I didn’t witness the deed or hear the inappropriate remarks, I praise and thank them for having the courage and for being truth tellers and taking the consequences of their actions or remarks. Many will grow up to be truth lovers and truth speakers and tellers because they find that telling and speaking the truth is the right thing to say and to do
MG, you are a teacher to be applauded and congratulated and I do both.
It seems so often children know to do the right thing and they do by reading their little hearts. Then along comes adults and pollute the process and then it is hard to follow the heart any longer. This happens to us as adults at times when we associate with the wrong kind of people, a husband, wife, friend, child, etc. They help us fudge a little here and there and then pollution.
“…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”
(1 Samuel 16:7, NIV)
This verse always makes me think, we have palm readers, face readers, clothes readers, hair readers, etc. but we all have a heart reader. I wonder if it works as easy as walking down the street with a new dress and hear, ‘beautiful dress.” Hear the Father say, “Beautiful Heart!”
I was just talking about a friend of mine who I’ve known a long time. I told her, “She always speaks truth,” She is a reader of all the above mentioned by Sara and God allows her to read the heart through her prophetic utterances. One thing about God, if HE is digging up something within you that doesn’t belong HE will warn you or talk to you about it before HE speaks the message of truth through your friend or someone else. The confirmation will come forth through someone. You know then that God spoke and change needs to come forth. No matter how much you twist and turn, shout and puzzle, throw a tantrum over the matter – God has a plan and that is to get rid of the old and have you move into the new he has for you. (Thus through this exercise your best friend (God) and your best friend in the earth want the same thing for you – a truthful walk on God’s highway). If you get derailed again He’ll be there to speak to you again.
I love that, Sara…the Father sees you walking down the street and He turns His GODLY head in admiration and says, “Beautiful Heart”.
THE HEART!! This reminds me of another scenario in the classroom when a child infringes upon another student, annoying or distracting and the little “victim” complains to me, sometimes the first words out of the perpetrators mouth is “I didn’t do anything.” But when I ask him to look into his heart and what he/she sees there…almost always the first thing that happens are tears. You are right. Their little hearts are tender and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and they almost always confess that, “yes, they did it and won’t do it again.”
“If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?” Psalm 44:20-21
Until we love and live truth, our heart will be divided. And when our heart is divided, how can we be well mentally or spiritually (and maybe physically)? It would seem a divided heart leads to a double-mind and instability.
Psalm 86:11 tells us to ask the Lord “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
“But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is.” John 16:13 Message
Interesting, Debi. Now, when the friend, Holy Spirit, comes, He will take me by the hand and guide me into truth. So, if I have a divided heart, mind, etc. He won’t come and I will wobble all over the place.
As I think on this, I think it is too simple for my complicated mind. Oh! it must be by my selfish ways I complicate my mind and end up with nothing. Hurts my head. Maybe this is why I have been praying, using Psalm 25, “O Lord, release my trapped heart.”