April 19, 2006

  • Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing the matter with this, except that it ain't so. [Mark Twain]

    I've been thinking a lot lately, as those who read my blog will know,
    about honesty. Emily Dickinson said that "Truth is such a rare thing,
    it is delighted to tell it." Delighted, perhaps, but sometimes
    terrified.

    I think that the fear of being truthful lies within the judgements we
    feel we may face in light of the truth. It's easy to say that "the
    truth will set you free" if you're interested in pursuing truth.
    However, it's misplaced to apply that to every truth in every
    situation, particularly when encouraged to BE truthful. The simple fact
    of the matter is, we all have prejudice and we all judge. It's nice to
    think that those closest to us could tell us anything and it wouldn't
    change the way we feel about them. In theory. It's another thing
    altogether to be faced with a truth so unexpected and uncomfortable
    that it forces you to choose what you really believe.

    I guess I just feel frustrated by what I see is a double-standard,
    especially by Christians. Tell the truth. Be honest. Don't lie. Don't
    sin. And YET...we only want to hear easy truths: I stole something; I
    lied; I cheated on my test; I was lustful; I am selfish. Be honest and
    tell me, what would be the majority reaction if someone were to tell
    you that they were: unfaithful to their spouse, a pedophile, cheated on
    their taxes, a homosexual, addicted to pornography, a prostitute, etc?
    Be honest.

    We want easy truths. When faced with the "hard" truths, we have two
    options: 1) accept it and move on (and offer genuine help if it's
    wanted), or; (2)  pretend to care, but secretly think differently
    about that person. I'm afraid to say that I see the scale weighing
    heavily down on option #2. Call me a pessimist or a realist. I just
    can't help it. Perhaps you can change my mind.

    ~Drew~

Comments (14)

  • I agree. I also feel like I wish there could be an honest place, where we accept eachother in spite of our sinfulness and grossness. We all know that we ourselves are sinful and gross, we just have different problems than the person next door. So are we better because we are different? No. I really like our church here, one of the reasons is I feel like the people are really honest and accepting in this way. Truth is told and you are still accepted (of course I know not everyone tells and it's not the perfect ideal but I think some of the leaders really work at it).

  • yeah i see that

    sometimes even in my life i can be that way. yet we must fight in our heads: to love our neighbor cause Jesus first loved us (even if we were the worst of the scum)

  • i agree. i think a lot of option 2 goes on. when option 1 should be second nature. granted some sins are more physically dangerous, but on the majority, ("on" the majority? insert appropriate phrase here), people are coming to you because they want help. and how are they going to get that if we are not genuinely loving them and trying to be jesus to them. i think a lot of it comes down to christians losing sight of who God is and who Jesus is. we've conformed them to be something cushy and comfortable that we can just run to comfort and love and peace. And we forget that with the good comes the "bad" or the things that cause us pain which causes growth in character: judgment, consequences, and the like. we expect it to be easy and have a sitcom ending, but life and God don't work that way. i don't know what to do about that though. i don't think it's going to change until we know God as He truly is individually and try to convey that to people that we come into contact with. and i think i completely side-stepped the original question. but that's what's burning in me right now.

  • I believe that the truth is more a test for those who hear it than those who tell it. You will know the true nature of those around you when they are faced with the truth about you.

    Of course the way people feel about you will change. It always does. It's an ever evolving state of being that is constantly altered by every new experience we share together. But change is not always a bad thing. With the truth some will abandon you but others will rally around you. Their faith in you and their friendship for you will be strengthened by the truth. Whatever that truth may be.

    Your heart is heavy with things you need to share. That is obvious from your postings. You already know what the outcome will be. This is also obvious from your postings. So in avoiding being honest yourself perhaps you are also denying your readers the opportunity to be honest with themselves and with you.

  • the sweetest man I need to hug.

    and isn"t faith becoming a goddamned faith partly because of that and not a god blessed faith? i forget who wrote it it, but there is a short story about a man who always said the truth, people were afraid of him, but eventually got used to him and benefit of his truth, because they learned to better themselves and understand he wasn"t even being judgemental when it was a truthful opinion about them. yeah whatever.

    it would be terrible to wrap this up with "nice thoughts, I hope God blesses you" cough, cough, run away.....

    fuck, seek hard. it hurts. I am not giving you advice, but just understanding in myself with you somehow. blah.

    roy

  • I guess we'll never find out until some brave souls start being honest.

    And if you THINK someone ISN'T a prostitute, and then find out that she IS one, then it's pretty fair to think differently about her.  Not to judge her, but to realize that she has a different background and life than you thought.

  • hmmm you got me thinking, man...

  • hmmm you got me thinking, man...

  • hey, thanks for the comment, it's a big compliment to be referred to in conjunction with ee cummings.
    one thing: is it really appropriate to put the state of homosexuality, or a prostitute in the same list with pedophilia and cheating on taxes? that seems to invoke a lot of sweeping judgements i'm sure people make often, but do we want to intentionally equate those people with sinful acts, even in a post talking about how we judge? can we look at what a person can and can't help, and who are we to condemn anyone?
    i suppose that's something like what you're saying, i just got done with some social action asking the evangelical educational community to embrace glbt students with the same standards as they hold to straight ones, and so i'm interested in this kind of mentality--that we can so easily put people in boxes of exclusion and not embracing their identities, sexual or otherwise.
    ok, my little rant is over.
    take it easy drew. have a sweet day--
    angela

  • Angela: Yeah, I knew there might be a reaction in regards to my list of the "types" of people we might judge. I didn't want it to be regarded as a list of sinful miscreants, but rather as a list of the type of person readily and immediately judged based upon one single factor of their being.

    Essentially, I'm not making a statement about morality, but about how they are judged, as you said.

    Thanks for raising the point!

  • The truth is deathly hard to deal with, within us and others. In that way, it propogates a viscious cycle of prejudice, which stops us all from growing and being true to the deepest parts of ourselves. I don't like what you are doing. So you feel horrible, and find something someone else is doing tha you can condemn. But that very same thing can be found in hundreds of other people, including me. And so it begins again.

    I've been to some very dark parts of myself, and found the line between what I and others would be willing to accept or not about me, is extremeley thin.

    We are all just keeping up lies about ourselves. The worst is when we lie to ourselves. It ensures that we resist success and evolution.

  • ah, you guys are too frikking smart for me.

  • Wow, you really got me there.  I am having trouble with my double standards.  A lot of homosexuals in our school, and I just seem to act sporadically to them.  I tend to set myself away from the hard truths. I, however, also realize that these major issues cannot be denied and avoided forever.  It took almost 300 yrs for the church (mainly by John Paul II) to apologies for the persecution of Galileo, and the church's role in burnings at the stake.  How many years is it going to take to realize for people to realize that the injustices commited in the name of christ is WRONG.  Only the history will tell, and laugh at us.   

  • Hey Drew! I found you on Xanga...yes I have succumed with the excuse of staying in contact with some of our students. You have certainly chosen a challenging issue to tackle. My few sents worth on the topic would be; As a Christian, it's hard to find the balance between standing firm when it comes to God's priciples and teachings and remembering that we have all fallen short and continue to do so, even if we think we don't have too many of the 'problems' others have. We either fall into the trap of saying "everything's cool man, whatever's right for you." or wagging the "I'D never do THAT!" finger with great self-righteousness. There are certainly things I hesitate to share, fearing that others (even Christians) would think less of me. I suppose, though, it serves to remind me that I am no better than the 'man next door'. I wish I could say that I would think no differently of you or others if you were to be completely honest with me. I quess that's where I would need God's compassion/forgiveness/understanding where mine would be lacking. I can picture Jesus walking up to the prostitute or the criminal and, while unable to condone what they have done, show them such love and compassion that they have real worth in His sight. That is what I strive for. Ultimately I am thankful that I can be perfectly honest with God as nothing is hidden from Him in the first place. Okay, I am rambling...and I have changed the topic in spots too...three cheers for freedom of speech! Wendy

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