Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Truth or Dare (08/28/08)
-
TITLE: Anonymous, posthumous or calamitous? What does your truth look like? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gillian Dobson
09/04/08 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
But I have often wondered if it would not have been more appropriate to call the game “Truth and Dare”. For surely telling the truth often requires as great a degree of courage as any daring action. Being truthful involves owning up to that which we would prefer to remain hidden, or revealing something of the dark side of another person that no-one yet knows. The truth can be a painful thing, both for the speaker and the hearer. Who among us likes to have our failings and weaknesses revealed for all the world to see? And is there anyone who doesn’t quake to some degree when a situation calls for confronting someone else with an unpleasant truth? As Thomas Sowell once said: “There are only two ways of telling the complete truth – anonymously and posthumously.”
For many years I lived with terrible fear and unresolved, repressed anger about the way a certain woman treated me, but never had the courage to speak up about her behaviour, and continued to relate to her as if there was nothing wrong. She had no idea I felt the way I felt, and thus continued to behave as she always had.
What kept me from speaking up? I was terrified of the consequences, for I pretty much knew that to reveal my feelings and confront her about her behaviour would result, at the very least, in an ugly scene, and at worst, in a total breakdown of the relationship. So I continued to live bound by my fear and anger.
Jesus said: “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31+32, RSV). And there came a time in my life when Jesus said to me: “My child, it’s time to deal with this problem. You need to speak and live the truth in this area of your life.” I was terrified, but knew that I needed to be obedient to his command. And deep down I was tired of living a lie. It was so exhausting.
So, I sat down and wrote a letter, and prayed, and rewrote the letter. I showed it to my husband and made more adjustments. I put it in a drawer and left it there for 3 weeks and prayed some more, and edited it some more. Then finally I sent the letter off and waited for the storm to break. And it did!!
Just as I had suspected, the woman was furious at my confrontation of her behaviour. She raved at me, threatened me, spoke ill of me to all and sundry, and eventually cut off the relationship altogether. It was a very painful time in my life.
But Jesus promised that the truth would set me free, and though speaking the truth at that moment was one of the hardest things I have ever done and resulted in a number of months of severe stress and anguish, I have come to realise that it was the beginning of a new freedom for me. I have learned to put healthy boundaries in place in my relationships. I have learned a lot about forgiveness and have gained a tremendous amount of self-insight, and after much prayer, I am finally free of the crippling fear and anger that bound me.
Daring deeds certainly require great courage, but for some of us, speaking the truth might be the most courageous deed of all.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.