By Mark W. Christy, PhD

In a culture where self is king and every conversation is gauged by how it serves one’s emotions, many who choose to boldly declare truth will face a plethora of accusations concerning their directness and insensitivity. In response to these concerns, the one declaring truth should most certainly manifest a humble and loving spirit in their relations to others. That being said, the possession of such a spirit may be somewhat difficult to perceive by those receiving a word of truth especially if that word comes in the form of a rebuke or a correction. Afterall, most people are totally okay with a word of encouragement, but the true gospel warrior is called to venture beyond positive affirmations: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim 4:2 NASB). When the tough talk has to occur, the rebuking retort that may follow will most likely catch the novice truth declarer off guard. With this in view, here is a response from the Scripture to anyone bold enough to charge this godly person bringing a word of correction and rebuke with being too blunt and hurting the feelings of his/her recipients.

In Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus warns against duplicitous oath-taking and commands his hears to be direct and firm in their speech: “But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin” (Matt 5:37 NASB). Here, the directness of one’s promise avoids the concealment of one’s intent and makes more certain one’s true meaning. By speaking directly and bluntly even at the expense of someone’s discomfort, a person will be striving to safeguard the truth of their message so as not to deceive their listener(s) and so as to ensure that their true meaning is transferred.

Along with Christ’s admonition to be bold, direct, and blunt in one’s communication, Scripture also speaks of select leaders who lacked the eloquence so often demanded of those bold enough to speak truth in these modern times. Specifically, Moses and Paul both admit to lacking polish in their speech (Ex 4:10; 1 Cor 2:1; 2 Cor 11:6). Despite their lack of oratory skill, God chose them and sent them to be His truth messengers, and He expected people to focus on their message and not their communication skills.