by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Truth and love are not at odds. Both are needed simultaneously. Truth without love can be unkind, cold, and heartless. Love without truth will be arbitrary, compromising reality, and without standards. However, together, united, truth and love will be purposeful, compassionate, and committed to what is best for all.<\/p>\n
Jesus is the greatest example of blending truth with love, and the account of the “rich young ruler” provides a good setting for this point. Recall that the young man came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16-30). There are several approaches to take, but I would like to focus on one key point. Jesus both told the man the truth and, at the same time, loved him.<\/p>\n
The young man came to the right person and asked a good question, but he was not ready to hear what the Lord had to say. His commitment would only go so far. His willingness to follow ended at the crossroads of wealth and faith in the only One who could save Him. “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions<\/em>” (Mark 10:21-22).<\/p>\n Truth and love go hand in hand because it takes real love to tell someone the truth. This is risky because telling someone the truth can come across as uncaring or mean when that truth does not match what the person wants to hear. The temptation to compromise the truth is ever-present to avoid sounding offensive or unkind. Imagine Jesus saying to the man, “Don’t worry about it. You’re all good. Just keep doing what you are doing.” Ironically, that would not have been loving because it would not have spoken truth to the man, and he would have been given a false sense of security. That’s anything but love. Real love will speak truth.<\/p>\n To dismiss truth, love must be redefined and twisted to fit a false narrative. The young man might have walked away and justified himself by thinking, “There was no love in that. If that’s love, I don’t want any part of it.” I suspect that he knew better. The temptation we face today is built on redefinitions of love. “Love is love,” we often hear, but besides the circularity of that, it is grounded in the notion that we can define love however we please. If we feel it, then it must be true, and anyone who loves us will not contradict that.<\/p>\n Truth, however, does not play this game. In dealing with fallout from error, Paul asked his Galatian readers, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?<\/em>” (Galatians 4:16). What we might perceive as an attack on us for something we want to be real could, in reality, be a loving appeal to truth. The truth is set, unwavering. “It is what it is,” we say. If that runs counter to our feelings, then what are our options? Ignore it? Twist it to our own desires? Charge those who tell it that they are unloving? Or repent and conform ourselves to it? The heart may “want what it wants,” but at the end of the day, the heart will not overturn truth.<\/p>\n Once again, none of this would justify being cold in telling the truth. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “We may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ<\/em>…” (Ephesians 4:14-15). It takes a level of maturity to speak truth in love. It requires an understanding of both truth and love, along with the wisdom to gracefully provide both (see Colossians 4:5-6). This is neither easy nor impossible. It does, however, take patience, continual adjustments, and persistence.<\/p>\n The love and compassion of God should never be in question, even for the rich young ruler. Neither should His truthfulness. God is love (I John 4:8). This is why we cannot redefine it, for in doing so, we attempt to redefine God and thereby twist what is true. When we deny self and listen to God, then we will find true love and compassion without compromising reality and truth. Hear the Psalmist:<\/p>\n Let us be dedicated to both truth and love. One without the other will result in something that is neither true nor loving. Jesus came to show both, and He did so perfectly. Let us never walk away sorrowful.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer Truth and love are not at odds. Both are needed simultaneously. Truth without love can be unkind, cold, and heartless. Love without truth will be arbitrary, compromising reality, and without standards. However, together, united, truth and love will be purposeful, compassionate, and committed to what is best for all. Jesus is the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[65,441],"class_list":["post-89786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-love","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":85187,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":89786,"position":0},"title":"What Is Truth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David A. Cox via Biblical Insights, Vol 15. No. 1, January 2015 Pilate asked the question in the trial of Jesus, \"What is truth?\" (John 18:38), which has been asked many times. Many believe that truth is relative. Relative truth means that each individual determines the truth and what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-took-a-lot-of-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":89786,"position":1},"title":"It Took a Lot of Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Stephen was misrepresented and falsely charged by his Jewish brethren (Acts 6:11-15). When the court allowed him to speak, he gave a concise summary of Israel's history (Acts 7). They had a bad history. The brothers of Joseph hated him and sold him to Egypt, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45814,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-convince-a-pentecostal-of-the-truth-about-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":89786,"position":2},"title":"How do I convince a Pentecostal of the truth about miracles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When you get time would you look over these responses I saw from a Oneness Pentecostal in a discussion with a brother over miracles? I completely agree that miracles ceased, and that which is perfect is referring to the word of God, but the Pentecostal Oneness member brings up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62840,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":89786,"position":3},"title":"In Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II John \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Truth is Jesus Christ - John 14:6 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The book of II John expands on this idea \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The book is written by the Apostle, and Elder, John \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To whom it is addressed has been debated \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some see \u201celect lady\u201d as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60087,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-hound-of-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":89786,"position":4},"title":"The Hound of Heaven","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rick Lanning Do you remember this quote? \"No one is good but God.\" Most readers will immediately think of Jesus' reply to the rich young ruler who had run to the Lord, fell on his knees, and asked, \"Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86576,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/being-crucified-with-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":89786,"position":5},"title":"Being Crucified with Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Formerly, Paul was an enemy of Christ and made it his mission to stomp out His church if possible. He thought he was doing God service as he searched to persecute and kill Christians, those Paul sincerely thought were heretics of the Jews' religion. According to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89786\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
\nso great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
\nas far as the east is from the west,
\nso far does he remove our transgressions from us.
\nAs a father shows compassion to his children,
\nso the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
\nFor he knows our frame;
\nhe remembers that we are dust.” (Psalms 103:11-14)<\/blockquote>\n