SPEAK THE TRUTH-TO YOUR NEIGHBOUR

Being members of one another carries a little more meaning than being members of the same body. It goes beyond the idea that we need to be truthful so that the parts of the body can work together. It says we are each not only parts of a larger body but parts of each other -- members of one another. We are so involved in the lives of others, and they in our lives, that any falsehood or deception of them is a deception of ourselves. The integrity of our speech is a function of our integrity as persons. It works both ways, people who are not whole integrated persons, who do not know who they are or where they are going, behave inconsistently and deceive others in both speech and action; and wherever people do deceive others their relationships tend to disintegrate while they lose a sense of wholeness in themselves. People who become alienated from others tend to become alienated from themselves.

Well, you might say, that is common human wisdom, the sort of thing that people anywhere might learn by observation of human experience. You might wonder whether there is anything particularly Christian about it. I believe that what Jesus taught, and what he achieved in his work on earth, is not only for the good of those who are his followers, but for the benefit of the whole of humanity. As to speaking the truth to our neighbours, I think we can see an obvious way in which the way of Christ is different from common human wisdom, and in fact challenges that wisdom to be more true to itself.

When are people in our society often encouraged not the tell the truth? One fairly common experience in daily work is the little, or not so little, office lie. The boss wants you to tell a client that he is out when he not, or the cheque is in the mail when it is not, so you might deceive someone, perhaps in a small way. This sort of thing, and deception on a larger scale, tends to be justified in terms of the interests of the company or the government or perhaps the family. Within a work group or family, speaking the truth is usually expected because you have to be able to trust the information provided by other members for people to work effectively. This is what we were saying before about the functioning of the body, both in Christian fellowship and in human groups generally. But does the same obligation extend to people outside the group? If you do not regard the client as part of the group in whose interest you are working then you might feel justified in deceiving that person. This is where what Jesus said about loving your neighbour applies in a way which challenges that tribal kind of group loyalty. The question he dealt with when he told the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) was, "And who is my neighbour?"

The point is that the kind of loyalty, consideration and compassion that is due a fellow member of your own family, group or nation is due to all people. The idea that we are members of one another is extended widely to include people beyond our own circle in the right to be told the truth. In fact many large commercial organisations recognise this general principle, at least to a limited extent. It is in their interests to consider the interests of those with whom they deal and to require that clients be dealt with honestly. This might not be simply because they run risks under the law if they are deceptive, but because it is good business too. The challenge of Christian teaching is to extend that sense of obligation without limit. So we are not talking here only of the ethics of behaviour within the Christian fellowship, or the sort of thing that Christians should do. Speaking the truth to our neighbours is important in the whole of human relationships for we are all members of one another. But there is a most important reason for speaking the truth within the fellowship of Christians because of the special nature of the body of Christ.

 

To be continued..............