Contemplative Bible Reading

Zechariah 8:16-17 (New International Version)

¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; ¹⁷ do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.

Such a simple phrase: Speak the truth to each other.

That ought to be easy enough. Repeat what has happened with no embellishment, no twists and turns, no extra material. It is much harder to create false information, remember it, keep the story straight, keep it going, and all that. I guess there is something in us that wants to, well I don’t know, add a little something to the truth.

I feel that failure to speak the truth is from different types of fear.

Fear – we are afraid to tell someone that we made a mistake. That we are less than perfect.

Fear – we are afraid that if someone knows what we really do, they won’t like us. They will abandon us, and we will be alone.

Fear – we are afraid of the consequences of someone knowing the truth. The impression I have from verse 17 is that the person has created a scheme to cheat their neighbor out of material goods. If the truth is known, the cheater won’t have the valuable goods. The cheater fears the financial consequences of speaking the truth.

God, help me to love the truth. Help me to speak the truth. Help me to remove fear from my life and replace it with love.