The importance of saying ...

It is a socially acceptable habit to not say what you want to, "not to cause offence" but speaking out of school or behind their back. Or to adopt the stance of "It was only a white lie." But I find that not being straight and lying in any shade causes offence. It may be my Yorkshire etiquette of saying things how we see them. It might be my own bloody mindedness or simple lack of tact (Oh yes, I know you find it hard to believe!). I have curbed my abrasiveness, I do sincerely hope, over the years. However, I do think that as a Christian I have the responsibility to speak with love and that love requires honesty. It is better to not to speak than to speak harshly for sure. But the most incredible lack of Christian compassion sits in the courts of those for whom not telling the truth can be justified by saying, "It was for their own good!" God help us there is only one way of speaking for another's good and that is, if we can speak at all, and that is speaking the truth in love.