Blunt Honesty

Scripture Reading: John 16:1-12

I have known a few people who take pride in their blunt honesty. They wear as a badge of honor the fact that they always speak what is on their mind. You never have to guess what they are thinking. Granted, there are times when that is the right thing to do. But not always.

In our text, we discover that Jesus delivered some of that kind of blunt honesty, but He also held back some things because he knew it would have been too much for His disciples to bear (John16:12).

Sometimes you should speak hard truths and sometimes you should hold back. How can we know when to do one or the other? Love is the answer. Paul told us to “speak the truth in love.” I don’t think he meant to always say everything you think or know to be true. I think he meant to do what we see Jesus doing in John 16. Let love be the force that gives you the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent.

John 16 begins with Jesus telling the disciples that persecution, even to the point of death, was in the future they were facing. He told them He was going away and leaving them behind. These were hard things for them to hear. Why did Jesus tell them these hard truths? “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away…I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going… (John 16:1,4). Jesus explains His reasoning. The disciples needed to hear these truths at that moment to prepare them for what was coming.

But Jesus didn’t tell them everything He knew. He had other things to say, but they weren’t ready. “You cannot bear them now,” Jesus said (John 16:12).

Jesus’ decided what to reveal and say to His disciples based on what was going to help them. He held back what He knew they weren’t ready to handle. In other words, He spoke out of love. He knew the truth, but He also knew who He was talking to and what was needful for them. He didn’t hold back from speaking hard truth because it was hard to hear, but He also didn’t treat saying hard things like the act of saying them was a badge of honor.

Be blunt when you know it is best for the person(s) you are speaking to. But hold back when you know they aren’t ready. Therein lies the wisdom of love.