Scripture: Zechariah 8:16
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, click and render true and sound judgment in your courts.

Thought for the Day: I’m often stunned at just how blunt Scripture can be. Here, case God is speaking in no uncertain terms: be honest. Be truthful. It’s a simple exhortation. Yet, rx we have so much trouble following it that dishonesty has become the foundation of our entire social system. Even our idea of government is built on secrets, on leaking false information, on the idea that certain truths cannot be known in the interest of national security, or because some politician in an office, completely disconnected from reality, has decided that we can’t handle the truth

I think we can handle the truth, and I think we have the capability to be truthful with each other. But I think that sort of attitude requires a complete rethinking of the way we relate to each other as human beings, and the way we think about organizing ourselves into civilizations. The truth is that the planet will never be peaceful and the human race will never make any real social or technological progress, until we learn that being honest and up front with each other conserves resources and creates strong, lasting partnerships.

God calls us to lives of honesty—the sort of brutal honesty Jesus exemplifies when he speaks out against empire, when he speaks out against hypocrisy, when he proclaims to the world that God is alive in each and every one of us, if only we’d pay attention.

We can handle the truth. The question is, can we act on it with the same conviction as Jesus?

Prayer: Help me speak the truth of your universal love, respect, acceptance and equality, God of eternal sincerity. Give me the strength to act on my convictions, even though I know that speaking against the status quo may bring great repercussions against me. Amen.