Be Truthful
Lies, Lies, Lies
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Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, because we are members of one another.
Ephesians 4:25 (NET)
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This one should be a no-brainer.
In some ways, it’s surprising that God even had Paul write this verse because obviously we should be speaking truth to our fellow Christians.
So, why is it here?
Because it’s hard to speak the truth to one another sometimes.
Most of the time pride gets in the way.
Whether it’s my own pride tempting me to “save face” by not telling the truth, or if it’s wanting to avoid hurting someone else’s feelings (thus possibly damaging my relationship with them).
Pride can keep me silent. Or it can cause me to outright lie.
Either case is no good for building up the Body of Christ.
I’ve found it takes the work of the Spirit to defeat the work of the Enemy.
In this case, I need the Spirit to give me the courage to speak the truth when I want to stay silent. Or to speak the truth when I want to bend the conversation toward a lie. (If you’re clever, you can find ways to communicate a lie while remaining truthful in every word you say — of course that’s still falsehood.)
Oversharing is also a problem.
There are certain contexts to when & where is a proper time to share truth.
Not every moment of every day is a proper time for every truth.
Anyway, this is a good little verse. I’ve found it helpful for guiding me through times when I want to let pride win the day by not telling the truth.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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