Speaking Truth without Flattery

"If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all", was an irrational mantra pulled out of a hat whenever it suited the one who didn't want to hear the truth.

"Don't judge" has been another rampant mantra in the world adopted by churchgoers. Even though we must evaluate things every day to protect ourselves, avoid pitfalls, and keep from entering into relationships that are destructive, this mantra pops up every time we attempt to tell the hard truths about someone's behavior or attitude.

God commanded us to judge righteous judgment, he told us to beware of false prophets and to avoid contentious people, all of this demands that we judge.

John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

God exposed Ananias and Saphirah for their lying showing it was so important that He killed them.

We are to judge according to the bible. When a believer is walking into sin we are to warn them and avoid them if they will not listen. We are also to recognize those who are not born again and heading toward hell. In order to give them the gospel, we must know if they are unsaved in the first place according to the Bible.

To tell someone they should not judge another person is to say that the Holy Spirit and the Bible are useless to enlighten us as to the character of another person. This could not be farther from the truth.

1 Corinthians 6:2-3 “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”

Mark 8:15 “Mark 8:15 “15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.”

We would not be able to discern those who are leaven unless we evaluated them according to God’s Word.

God tells us in His word the nature and actions of those who are not born again. He is our guide in judging and our speech. He also clearly shows us those who are wicked, their words, their actions, their attitudes are seen and Spiritually discerned. To say we should not judge people is to deny truth according to God’s Word.

If all we say is nice happy things we will enable the unsaved to enter hell without warning. If we do not judge anything we will allow believers to walk into deep pits without warning to experience the discipline of the Lord.

Those who use these silly and unbiblical mantras are being used by the devil to silence the truth-teller, leaving the unsaved and the believers to wallow in devastation without hope.

Romans 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Those who walk with Christ no better than to use these meaningless and destructive mantras. They know they need love according to the Bible that warns about hell and disobedience. There is no love in watching a person march toward a deep canyon to throw themselves off. It is not loving to allow someone we care about to destroy themselves.

I recall once a time when a woman rebuked her brother for his hateful behavior toward her. Because the brother was the golden child of the mother, the mother chastised the woman saying; “we shouldn’t tell people they are wrong.”

Notice something interesting in this exchange? The mother was telling her daughter she was wrong for telling someone they were wrong, a smattering of hypocrisy!

Unbiblical stances by those who defy God’s Word are always inconsistent and irrational at best. They are attempts on the part of the devil to silence truth and protect sin. The people who use these mantras often if not always ultimately end up protecting the sinful person rather than supporting the righteous ones. 1 Thessalonians 2:5 "5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness."

Romans 16:18 "18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

Proverbs 29:5 " 5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."

Let's not be those who use worldly mantras for the sake of enjoying our lives without discord. Let's tell the truth by doing the hard work of helping people to know the truth and become changed by Christ.