Has anyone ever asked you if you liked her haircut, and you thought to yourself, “no, it’s awful”, but you didn’t want to tell the person what you were thinking, so you complimented the person instead of telling her the truth?
If you’ve had that scenario, or a similar one, happen to you, why were you afraid to tell the person the truth?
Likely you were “scared” that by telling the truth you would hurt someone’s feelings, and that is awkward. We don’t like awkward. Most of us are inclined to want others to think well of us. We don’t want to alienate people.
However, I’ve learned that I can’t be afraid of the truth, but that I have to be wise and discerning in my approach (I have a lot to learn yet), and the timing of when I share the truth.
How about the truth of the Gospel – does the thought of sharing it with others sometimes scare you? It’s not that the Gospel is scary, it’s the effect of the truth of the Gospel message that is often uncomfortable.
But God tells us the Gospel is the best message we can ever share with anyone.
What could be better news to share than the truth that a person can have eternal life, because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins? That is amazing news. After all, we could never pay the penalty for our sins. Without Jesus, we are lost forever. But God provided His own sacrifice in His Son, Jesus, so that we can have a living, active, vibrant relationship with Him. [Ephesians 1:7: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”; Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”; 1 Peter 2:24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”]
Why then would we shy away from sharing the Gospel, or any truth from the Bible, at every possible opportunity?
Could it be because we are less concerned about the person’s eternal welfare and more concerned about how people might respond to us?
In some countries, Christ’s followers are maimed or put to death for sharing the Gospel. Those events are scary, but God is so close to His people in those moments that their experience with Him outweighs the earthly discomfort.
Consider these events in the life of the Apostle Paul:
“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.” [Acts 14:19] That is a very scary event. I can’t imagine how sore his body must have been. Paul was stoned because he boldly shared truth.
He told God’s truth. He encouraged them to turn from worthless things to the living God [Acts 14:15].
What did Paul do after that took place?
“But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.” [Acts 14:20] Paul went back into the city!! That is an unnatural reaction to such a situation. It had to have been God-inspired, because only a person walking intimately with God would have acted so courageously.
Paul was not scared of the truth of the Gospel, nor was he scared of the impact telling that truth would bring. Paul cared about people’s position with God. He wanted everyone to know the Lord, being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
I want to be that bold and courageous for the Lord. I don’t want to be scared of telling the truth. However, I do want to tell the truth in God’s way and in His timing.
I’ve learned that God will provide me with the correct response to a person’s question, when I pause before speaking, to ask Him for help.
For instance, if someone were to ask me if I like their haircut, and I don’t, my reply might be something like: “Do you like it, because that is what matters.” That IS the truth. It really doesn’t matter if I like the haircut, it only matters if the person likes it.
Additionally, I’ve learned not to ask for an opinion if I’m not ready for the person to give me her honest answer. I don’t want someone to “rubber stamp” my thoughts if they disagree. I trust the people I ask for an opinion.
God wants us to take our questions to Him. We should always be willing and receptive to His answers.
After all, God is truth, and the truth sets us free from sin’s bondage [“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32].
How about you? Are you afraid to speak the truth of the Gospel because you don’t want to offend someone? Please take this to God in prayer, so that He can guide and help you to be bold for His kingdom.
Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com, if you would like to talk about being set free to share the Gospel and truth from God’s word.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
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Copyright 2023 Donna Shappy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.