Telling the Truth and Loving Our Neighbors
Contending for truth among complicated, broken, and beloved people
Speaking truthfully, especially when the truth is regularly obscured, demeaned, or abandoned altogether, is the responsibility of each one of Jesus’ followers, the One who just is truth. Two weeks ago I wrote about why Christians can’t ignore the barrage of deceit coming from the Trump-MAGA movement. Last week, borrowing from the work of Robert Schreiter, I suggested three meanings of truth – correspondence, coherence, and existential – that can help us be strategic about how we tell the truth. I intend for this last reflection about not giving up on the truth to be a catchall about speaking and living the truth among people for whom truth is not often the highest priority.
First, we are witnesses to the truth. Our primary task is not to argue or debate. While our concern is with reality, how we navigate our way to the truth is mostly through relational and emotional trust. So while we double-down on the truth and as we pursue it strategically, we can never forget that we are, before anything else, witnesses to the truth and to the Truth.
Second, because it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the rate of deception, wisdom invites us to focus on our local communities. Far more effective than shouting into the internet void is a willingness to speak up for the truth in our congregations and neighborhoods. We might also look for how a lie told by a politician hundreds of miles away intersects with the neighbors we love. These will be the truth-telling opportunities we prioritize.
Third, by doubling-down on our commitment to truth, we avoid unthinking partisan loyalties. For example, when the newly appointed Democratic vice presidential candidate repeats a debunked rumor about his Republican opponent, those who have spoken against deception from the right can quickly point it out on the left. The fact that Trump and his loyalists have weaponized deception doesn’t mean we can’t spot the lies when they come from other directions.
Fourth, we come to this task confidently but also sorrowfully. One of the reasons that Christians are called to actively and publicly denounce the lies coming from Trump-MAGA world is that so many of our sisters and brothers have succumbed to deceptions about stolen elections, immigrant violence, and so on. What God expected of his people during Isaiah’s day remains true for us today: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears or be in dread.” (8:12)
Finally, our commitment to the truth can’t be separated from loving our neighbors, including those who’ve accepted the lies. It’s not enough to stake out the high ground, kept from those who disagree with us by facts, reality, and truth. In Saving Us, climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe writes about how we do this.
When you’re talking about contentious, politicized issues, study after study has shown that sharing our personal and lived experiences is far more compelling than reeling off distant facts. Connect who we are to why we care. Bond with someone over a value we already posses and share, one that is already near and dear to our hearts.
In other words, how we tell the truth will account for the emotions and experiences of those whose minds we hope to change. Caleb Campbell, in his book about loving Christian nationalists, does is really well. Christine Emba’s writing on masculinity exemplifies empathetic reporting.
Friends, these are deceitful days. Let’s not concede the truth; it’s worth contending for! And let’s do so thoughtfully and intentionally among the neighbors with whom we share so much complexity, brokenness, and, above all, belovedness.
Plundered Updates
A couple of cool things as we get closer to the October 8 publication date for my new book. First, the audio version is now available for pre-order. Second, InterVarsity Press has made the first chapter, “The Gift of Creation,” available for free on their website.
If you’re planning on purchasing the book, would you consider ordering it now? Pre-orders are exceptionally helpful!
The View From Here
Our family just returned from a few delightful days camping at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northwest Michigan. This has become one of our favorite spots over the years and every time we go my belief that the Great Lakes’ coasts are the best in the country is reaffirmed.