Speaking the Truth in Love

Political correctness and civility are two very different things and have two different outcomes. Political correctness is about power. It is telling people they are not allowed to say certain things or express certain opinions because someone in power has told us it's wrong or because a belief might offend someone or make them feel bad. Political correctness cares little for the truth.

Civility has to do with how we communicate truth. It is the practice of discussing truth in a way that affirms human dignity; that takes into account that the people involved in the discussion are made in God's image; and acknowledges that God died for these people and holds out a saving hand of grace to them.

Truth is important if we are going to be truly civil because love, rather than control, is at the heart of civility. I might meet someone at the edge of a cliff who believes it will make no real difference whether they step forward or backward. If there was a chance that they would be offended by my warning and explanation of the truth and consequences of gravity, then political correctness would say leave them be. But that is neither the loving or the civil (civilized) thing to do.

God has placed on us an obligation to seek truth and to communicate truth. We are called to make disciples of all men and women (Mat 28:19, 20) It is the right and the loving thing to do.

I was a lifeguard for several years. Not everyone at the pool liked the rules, but they were important for survival. Some people may not have liked the rules, but no one drowned in that pool. Love and care go together and there they saved lives. I don't have the authority of a lifeguard in other people's lives (so I won't pretend to have that authority), but I still have the responsibility to speak the truth in love.

Political correctness stops the discussion. It gives us the illusion that ignorance is fine as long as we feel all right and sincere about what we do or believe. Returning to the cliff for a moment, someone might sincerely believe that if they step off the edge they will float without falling, but regardless of their sincerity, they will be sincerely wrong. They might feel fine about the decision to step off, but they will feel far worse at the bottom.

It also stops the discussion when the truth is not spoken in love. Our communication consists of more than just propositional truth. Truth spoken, reflecting attitudes other than Jesus', can alienate others from the very truth we hope to communicate. A great deal of the book of James is devoted to this topic, but you can also find it in the most basic book on persuasive teaching. We are to tell the truth with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

To speak the truth in gentleness and respect, though means that we still need to tell the truth. Currently, our culture tells us it's rude to talk about politics and religion. It may be politically correct to avoid these topics, but it's not civilized. Civilization is the result of honest and open discussion. We need to make sure that we don't become cowards, afraid to ask and discuss the great questions of life. It is not loving to withhold the truth that has been offered us, but just like political correctness, rudeness, name calling, and disrespect shut down the conversation as well.

We speak the truth in love because God has called us to share the truth; because he has called us to love others as we love ourselves; and because without love, we really aren't going to get a hearing.