25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,”
This sentence is a quote from Zechariah 8:16 (LXX).
There is a focus on “truth” in this chapter (4:15, 21, 24). “Truth-telling” then becomes an emphasis in the exhortation section beginning with verse 25.
“Truth” is what is real. Our communication as Christians has to be consistent with what is actual about Christianity. In connecting with those around us, what we say must align with what is true. Becoming a Christian means that we embraced Jesus as the “truth” (Jn 14:6), the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17), and God’s Word as truth (Jn 17:17). We have many truth dynamics that influence how we relate to others.
PRINCIPLE:
The onus of our veracity rests on the intrinsic excellence of God’s truth.
APPLICATION:
Knowing God as the God of truth speaks to the issue of dealing with people with veracity and authenticity. Our relation to others rests on our connection to God’s truth; it is a matter of how trustworthy we are.
Christians do not deliberately mislead others. When we do this, we seek our own advantage rather than the benefit of others. People should be able to count on our word. We cannot tamper with truth. We do not use flattery when we do not believe what we say.
Keeping confidences is not lying. However, anything that we do affirm should be true. Christians are people of the truth. Nor it is necessary to expose every thought or attitude we may have toward others. That is pseudo spirituality.
Exaggeration is a lie. We want to look better than others. To do this we distort the facts about who we really are. We want others to think we are more wonderful than we are. This violates biblical integrity.
