‘Real Appeal’

Daily Devotional–Thursday, June 17, 2021

“Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37, NLT)

We live in a time and age where people claim to value ‘authenticity,’ but have difficulty with the whole concept. Genuine honesty is hard to come by because we are too concerned with being offensive or of being accused as such. We have lost the ability to disagree amicably. We’re too quick to draw lines in the sand. We do not value the opinions of others unless they match our own. So, while we say that we value authenticity, we actively discourage it.

When we run across people who openly speak their minds, we often want to apply one of the many labels used to identifier ‘haters.’ We accuse them of ignorance and / or of being judgmental. And yet, speaking for myself, when I ask for the opinion of another, I do not want them to tell me simply what they think I want to hear. I do not want them to make promises they have no intention of keeping. We need to make room for people to respond with an honest, ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ or we simply risk disappointment when their answer turns out to be a lie.

When Jesus taught, “Let your ‘yes’ be yes and let your ‘no’ be no,” he was telling people that they needed to speak honestly and plainly without the need for vows to demonstrate their serious intention. I prefer a person to speak their opinion plainly, even if with a certain level of tactlessness, then receive the polished response of someone who is disingenuous. I may not agree with an opinion and may even attempt to persuade another that there is another point of view, but it is only by being ‘real’ that true relationship and honest communication can happen.
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We need to do more than just say we value authenticity…we need to give permission to others to actually be authentic. Only then can our conversations be healthy and our relationships unimpeded by the false notion that we have nothing in common with those who may hold different opinions from our own. Being ‘real’ has the potential of holding an enormous amount of appeal for showing the love of God to others, even with whom we do not fully see eye to eye.
~ Pastor Jane
#hopechapel #collingwoodchurch #devotional #luke5 #authenticity