Balancing Truth vs. Love
There’s a profound struggle today among some Christians to properly balance truth and love. Perhaps you’ve faced this dynamic — the call to love and abide by God, while also being relational with those who reject biblical truth.
When it comes to balancing truth and love, it’s essential we explore the fact that our worldview impacts our entire existence: how we interact with and view others, how we form and respond to moral choices and what we choose to focus on in our lives.
Listen to today’s devotional podcast to learn how to balance “truth” and “love”:
As Christians, our goal is to form a relationship with God and, in turn, to seek His standards and truth in our own lives. Unfortunately, it’s getting more and more difficult in our “everything goes” culture for people to both find this truth and, in turn, to live it out.
Truth is fixed; it doesn’t ebb, it doesn’t flow, and it certainly doesn’t bend to our individual whims. Yet, while we are called to embrace truth, we are also told of the importance of loving others, regardless of whether they, too, embrace God’s standards.
Proverbs 3:3-4 (NIV) explores this dynamic between truth and love and leaves us with some important lessons to be learned:
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”
In a culture that lacks compassion, sometimes encourages selfish pursuits and is slowly separating itself from truth, love is certainly an antidote. But love should always come alongside truth and truth can only come from the Lord.
It won’t always be easy. Balancing truth and love can be uncomfortable in today’s day and age, but we should always love others while ensuring we don’t compromise biblical truth in the process. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) speaks to this dynamic:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
God proclaims here that our trust in Him is paramount. When we struggle to understand God’s ways or we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil as we try to balance truth and love, this verse reminds us that, when we trust in God, He will make our paths straight and help us figure it all out.
That’s a comfort in a wayward and oft-times tragic world. Proverbs 3:7-8 (NIV) adds another important note that we must consider: where we get our knowledge:
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”
This is a theme throughout Proverbs, and one we’d be smart to continue assessing in our own lives.
Where do you stand today? Are you balancing out truth and love well?