Be Careful When You Speak Out

Sunday’s text took us into Matthew 14:1-13 which tells the story of how John the Baptist came to be imprisoned and executed by Herod Antipas. I highlighted the differences between John and Herod’s concerns – John being primarily concerned about God and His commands, Herod being primarily concerned about the opinions of others. I suggested that like Herod, we can be vulnerable to caring more about popular opinions than about God’s will and ways. Pointing to John’s example and our assurance of victory in Christ, I encouraged us to be brave in speaking the truth, even in the face of grave consequences.

I have to admit - sometimes I get a bit nervous encouraging people to be brave in speaking the truth. While some of us hesitate to speak up, others of us don’t have much of a problem speaking our mind – if you need an opinion, we’ve got one! As I mentioned in my sermon, we see people spout all kinds of opinions on social media and this often leads to a lot of drama.

Sometimes it seems like we feel this compulsion to share our opinions, because we have a fear of missing out. Other times, it seems like we feel this compulsion because we’re trying to prop up our identity – “I am this, not that.” One manifestation of this tendency has been pejoratively referred to as “virtue signaling,” but its range is far broader than the set of political beliefs that may come to mind when you see that term. It’s a tendency that is within all of us to one degree or another and has been more broadly identified as “expressive individualism.” You should read this short article to learn more about it; a quote from Yuval Levin cited in the article offers a concise definition of expressive individualism:

“That term suggests not only a desire to pursue one’s own path but also a yearning for fulfillment through the definition and articulation of one’s own identity. It is a drive both to be more like whatever you already are and also to live in society by fully asserting who you are. The capacity of individuals to define the terms of their own existence by defining their personal identities is increasingly equated with liberty and with the meaning of some of our basic rights, and it is given pride of place in our self-understanding.”

Of course, fear of missing out and expressive individualism don’t account for all the reasons why we meet speak out on social media or elsewhere – at a more basic level you could say it comes from our pride or anger. At this point you may feel I’m being very negative about our possible motivations and you would be absolutely right. I’m focusing on the negative, selfish motivations because it is just those sorts of motivations that we must avoid blessing. Even when something is true (or when we at least believe it to be true), we must nevertheless be diligent in guarding ourselves against motives that would tempt us to use the truth for sinful ends – using the truth to puff ourselves up or to intentionally hurt others. As in all aspects of life, we must heed Paul’s exhortation when he says:

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 [ESV]

Make no mistake, sometimes speaking the truth will hurt others, but that should not be our aim. Our aim is to restore others to God, not to see them destroyed. Jesus says of his ministry in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” As his followers, we share in his redemptive purpose. With this in mind, Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:15 stand out all the more when he writes,“[S]peaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Love must always be the motivation behind our truth-telling because this is the way of Christ who is our head.

There is more to tell. Love concerns not only our motives, but also the way we speak to others. Notice Paul’s words Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:24-25 [ESV]: 

“And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

Imagine - how might our world be impacted if we Christians began to treat our opponents with kindness, gentleness, and patience, even while speaking the truth to them? So often we think of kindness and truth-telling as polar-opposites, but Paul is telling us we should consider them to be inseparable from one another!

Notice also that Paul says we should not be “quarrelsome.” His meaning is that we shouldn’t be argumentative types, seeking to pick a fight on every issue. This touches another concern of mine – that in calling you to be truth-tellers some may think that means we should speak on every matter, in every moment. There is lot that could be said here, but I’ll keep it as simple as possible.

We should hesitate to speak on some matters if we know there are gaps in our knowledge or that our opinions could unnecessarily set up a barrier to someone responding to Christ. As a person very interested in politics, I may know more than the average bear, but I also recognize there are significant gaps in my knowledge – I am not an expert in law, economics, or foreign diplomacy. I may have blind spots in my opinions, and if I espouse them without caution, those who are well-informed may notice some detail that would be inconsistent with the example and teachings of Christ, leading them to conclude that Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites.

Similarly, even if my opinion is well-informed and consistent with Christian belief, others may be less informed and be led to same conclusion. This means we must exercise wisdom and self-control in what we will speak about – discerning between what is secondary and what is essential. It is essential that Christians stand against racial discrimination and stand up for the dignity of the foreigner, the elderly, the unborn, and those with special needs. In other matters, like obscure economic policies, we should be slow to speak given the many interests at play and the uncertainty of outcomes.

Even if we can speak on some matters, we must still be careful in discerning when we should speak. This applies to all things, including the Gospel. We should be bold but also tactful in sharing the Gospel, taking our cues from Paul’s instruction to Timothy. In all things, the Gospel must continually be our priority – we must confess that it is the only true and reliable means of transforming others. We must bring others to Christ and let him tear down any walls of opposition, rather than acting as though we ourselves must tear down every wall before introducing Christ. He is the power, we are not. This means we should not feel as though we must first deal with differing opinions on ethics, science, and especially politics, before getting to the Gospel. Some of these things will be dealt with in time and others of them do not require perfect agreement – Christians are allowed to have differences of opinion on many things.

Speak the truth, but be wary of your motives. Exercise wisdom in deciding what you will speak about and when you will speak. Speak the truth, always in love, seeking above all things to bring others to salvation in Christ.

Rev. Tom Loghry

Tom Loghry is the senior pastor of Rockland Community Church in North, Scituate, RI. He is a graduate of the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, Toccoa Falls College (B.S. Pastoral Ministry), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.A. Theology). He is continuing his graduate studies in the area of “Ethics & Society” at GCTS.

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.