Colleen Orchanian

A witness in a courtroom is sworn in with the words, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" That swearing-in is a procedure reminding the witness that they have a responsibility to tell the truth so that the jury can come to a just decision. Truth matters. Not that we only say what is true, but that we say all that is true, not omitting inconvenient facts.

As Christians, we are all called to speak the truth and to speak about Truth itself, who is Jesus Christ. Sometimes, however, we don't tell the whole truth. We might skip the hard teachings. We might soften the message of Jesus so that it is more acceptable to those we want to reach.

We talk about God's mercy – that it is endless. We tell others He will forgive any sin; we are not beyond redemption. God loves us that much. We may be less comfortable talking about the gravity of sin; we want to focus on the positive. Is that what Jesus did? No. When he forgave sins and healed people, he told them to sin no more. He called them to repentance. To tell someone about God's mercy without calling them to repent is not sharing the whole truth. To tell someone about God's mercy and not acknowledge the gravity of their sin is not sharing the whole truth.

I once confessed a very serious sin in the sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest's response was, "I'm sure you had a good reason." He was trying to be kind, but that was not a Godly response. God never minimizes our sins. He calls them what they are and then he forgives. When I brought that same sin to another priest, his response was, "That is a very grave sin, and God forgives you." That second priest told the whole truth.

Many people carry very serious sins in their hearts and souls. We cannot be convinced that the sins were justifiable or excusable. We know better, even if we want to believe otherwise. When we hear the whole truth, we are more able to accept the mercy of God.

Here's another example of partial truth. We talk about the joys of Heaven – a place that we can't imagine in all its glory. It's that great. We tell others about Heaven and try to persuade them that's where they want to be. It's eternity with God. That's all true. Others focus more on Hell. As amazing as Heaven is, so horrible and terrifying is Hell. When we limit our talk to either Heaven or Hell, but not both, we are not telling the whole truth. Jesus talked about both. He wants us to be in Heaven with Him, but we can choose something else. He doesn't leave us with the impression that we get Heaven or nothing – nonexistence. Our choice matters and he wants us to know that. That's the whole truth.

Jesus talked about the importance of following the commandments. His focus wasn't on the minute details of the law, but on the heart with which we follow the law. He shared the hard truth that we should not kill, but even when we speak harshly to another, we have murdered them in our hearts. He shared the hard truth about adultery and expanded that definition to include lust in our hearts. He agreed that staying married is hard, but still, God hates divorce and calls us to fulfill our vows. All of those are hard teachings. They are the whole truth. It's easier to follow my own way, my own wants, my own commandments. Sometimes I don't want to hear the whole truth.

And sometimes I don't want to share the whole truth because I want people to say Yes to Jesus. That's a good desire, but it's not the way of Christ. In Acts 20:26-27, Paul says, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. The implication is that he would have blood on his hands if he had not shared the whole truth.

God told the Prophet Jeremiah (26:2): Tell all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. The words Jeremiah was to speak would incite the people to murder him because he was calling them out on their behavior and letting them know that there was a reckoning coming. It was a hard truth. But God said, tell them the whole truth. And Jeremiah did. Sometimes the whole truth is dangerous for us. And still, God wants us to speak it.

Sometimes I don't want to share the whole truth because I think the person will be offended, especially if I am critical of their behavior. Paul condemned all kinds of immorality very specifically in his letters. In 1 Corinthians 6:18, he writes, Flee immorality! Yes, God is merciful, but stop doing what is wrong! In 2 Corinthians chapter 2, after calling them out in his first letter, Paul writes, I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. He doesn't take pleasure in correcting them. He MUST do it because he MUST tell the whole truth. Sometimes that means fraternal correction.

Sadly, hard teachings do cause people to walk away from Jesus. It happened in John 6:60. Jesus had just told the disciples that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. Their response – This is a hard teaching. Who can bear it? And many left him at that time. But not the 12. Jesus was willing to have people walk away when he told the whole truth. Are we?

Sometimes no. We might take the approach that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. We might try to get someone to commit and then tell them "the rest of the story." We might just play it safe to avoid any conflict – so we tell the truth but only part of it. Or we tell the hard truths and skip the part about love.

Our weaknesses, our lack of courage, and our lack of faith keep us from speaking the whole truth. Love is the remedy. Can I tell the whole truth out of love? Can I love like Paul loved the Corinthians? Can I love like Jesus loved Peter, his denier, and Judas, his betrayer?

Love is the answer. Love for God. Love for the fullness of the truth. Love for our brothers and sisters in the faith. Love for those who have never experienced God and have no faith. Love for those who hurt us, who sin against us. Love for the eternal soul of each person God brings into our lives. When I love completely, I can share the whole truth. Even more, I can do no less.

Questions for prayer:

1. When have you been tempted to hold back part of the truth? What motivates that holding back?

2. When you don't tell the whole truth, which part are you omitting? Do you stress the easy or the hard teachings?

3. What graces do you need to speak the whole truth more confidently?