Inbox Inspiration: October 9, 2019 - October 23, 2019: Telling the Truth

Telling the Truth – 1  

Dear Friends,
Tell the truth and don’t tell lies.
That was one of the simple but important norms in my formation as a child.
 It is based on the eighth of the Ten Commandments:
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
So, we sin against truth when we tell lies about others.
The Church teaches that we even sin against truth when we unfairly talk about the faults of others.
We sin against truth when we lie under oath.
We sin against truth when we assert what we know to be false so as to deceive others who have a right to the truth.
And, of course, we sin against truth when we say something about ourselves that we know is not true.
The Scripture, in a very clear and straightforward way, calls us to be truthful.
I love Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, the core of his teaching about discipleship: “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).
Saint Paul exhorts us to live out our relationship with Christ by respecting one another and this includes being truthful: “Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and put on the new self…” (Colossian 3:9-10).
This all seems very basic, and yet maybe it is a timely refresher for us.
 “Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth. By injuring [our] relation to truth and to [our] neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation [of the human being] and of [our] word to the Lord.”
From The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2483 (The Vatican, 1994).

This is the first in a series of three reflections on Telling the Truth. See also the Inbox Inspirations for the next two weeks, October 16 and 23, 2019.
Lord Jesus Christ, we embrace you as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Father Michael Schleupner

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Telling the Truth – 2

Dear Friends, 
It is important to tell the truth for our own well-being.
When we are truthful about ourselves, about something we did, we have integrity.
We can then have a sense of inner peace.
Telling lies, even so-called “white lies,” can start to entangle us in webs of deceit within ourselves and with God and others.
One lie or untruth easily leads to another.
The result can be anxiety, diminished self-esteem, even loneliness and isolation from others – anything but inner peace!
Accordingly, telling the truth is also important for our relationships.
Sometimes it is difficult to tell the truth about ourselves or to tell the truth to others about themselves.
Doing this makes us vulnerable and opens us to rejection.
We give up some control and instead respect the freedom of the other person.
And yet, without this risk, relationships will not deepen and they may grow distant.
Finally, telling the truth is also essential for community and society.
Social structures are built upon an expectation of truth-telling.
We need to be able to rely on this.
Without this, social breakdown will eventually happen.
“Truthtelling is essential for authentic communication to occur and makes genuine interaction between people possible. That is, if truth were not expected, it would not be long before communication would entirely break down…Life would be chaotic without the norm of honesty.” 
From Why Truthtelling Is Important by Theology of Work Project.

This is the second in a series of three reflections on Telling the Truth. See also the Inbox Inspirations from last week, October 9, and for next week, October 23, 2019.
Lord Jesus Christ, we embrace you as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Father Michael Schleupner