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Truth

             Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, (Ephesians 6:14a)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  (II Corinthains 1:3-4)

If you listen to popular advice about hard times and comforting someone, you’ll hear the majority of the focus on not saying anything, but just “being there.” Job’s friends sat with him saying nothing for seven days. What a waste! They could have done something useful but they sat there. I could be wrong but being a further drain on the household probably isn’t the best way to comfort someone.

The next thing the advice tells us is that we’re supposed to grant validity to what the person claims is true. Now, I can see agreeing that the person may feel as though his/her life is over, but not with agreeing that it is over- unless you intend to kill him/her. No, agreeing with lies or errors in thinking does no one any good. It sets the victim up for further pain. Truth can be told gently or with compassion, but even if the person will not accept the truth, there is no good to be done by withholding it or rejecting it ourselves.

Truth is the first piece of armor that Paul suggests we put on - not compassion, not pity, not even love. Love may be described as the motivation of our warfare, but it’s not part of the armor. Truth is the first piece. And the belt is the piece of one’s armor on which one’s tools are kept. That means that truth is vital to our self-defense and to our strengthening those around us. It needn’t be brutal, but it must be truth.

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