This Sunday, we talked about how "Every Life...Needs a Truth-teller," experiencing together the story of David and Nathan, who came alongside David and took the risk of speaking truth into his life.
In my sermon I mentioned M. Scott Peck's description of pseudocommunity that occurs when we are involved in "communities" and relationships, but fail to take the opportunity to speak truth to one another, to hold one another accountable.
However, there is a shadow side to speaking truth. When we speak truth to those about whom we care, we risk being rejected and/or misunderstood. It has been said by a friend of a friend who I never had the opportunity to meet before he passed away, "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." Another risk we take is exposing what we understand to be the truth to the examination of others who may not agree with us, whose truth might be different than ours. Peck says that the antidote for pseudocommunity is to risk the chaos, yes chaos, that is possible (probable?) when we speak truth. Risking and pressing through the chaos can lead to the blessing of true community.
What better place than a community of faith, centered around the unconditional love and acceptance of God, is there to practice being truth-tellers? How can we create a place, an environment, that offers as much safety as possible for us to encourage one another and hold one another accountable on our spiritual paths?
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