It doesn't always get you a lot of friends. Truth, that is. In fact, the truth will sometimes cost you everyone and everything you thought mattered the most (Luke 14:25-27). Walking in it demands a level of courage that many have yet to discover, and I know, because I recently had to make the choice to either walk in it or remain hidden in my feelings, relationships, and overall life script. I don't do well with relational deception and spurious living. If I'm not free to be me as I am, then I find that life becomes a distressing game of charades and the authentic self gets lost in the perpetual guessing. In my own situation, the truth cost me everything, but here's what I know. To own your life narrative, to walk in raw, unfiltered and unadulterated authenticity, despite the cost, is never the wrong choice. The fallout may be painful, but Jesus said in Luke 17:33 that "whoever tries to save their life (life as they know it) will lose it, but he who loses his life for My sake will find it." Personally, I think that sounds like a terrible way to invite sinners to follow Him, but who am I to tell Jesus that He should have sugar coated His message? I certainly made suggestions to Him in prayer, but the Bible remains unchanged, so I digress. He also states in John 8:32 that "the truth will set you free," but allow me to add that it might first punch you in the gut, have you fired, locked up, or standing completely alone, and most of the time you aren't even really sure what you're now "free" to do. I'll save you some painful soul searching by just telling you, it's less about what you do and more about who you become. Some days lately, I haven't been able to do anything, but in the silence of prayer, I am becoming. The "doing" is an inevitable by-product of that process. When you make the decision to walk courageously into the unknown via the portal of truth and honest introspection, you really are free to be. You may lose your security, but it was never supposed to be founded upon anything other than God anyway. Your circle of friends may shrink, but Proverbs 18:24 says "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother," and my friend Dawn is the embodiment of this verse. Moreover, Proverbs 17:17 says "a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for a time of adversity," and though my circle is small, it is powerful (Matthew 18:20). James 5:16 says "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective," and between my mom, sister, and several extremely close prayer warriors for my best friends, I am safe in the arms of both Ultimate Love (1 John 4:7) and the love of my friends and family. Truth hurts, but it also heals. Be bold enough to own your truth unapologetically, to walk in your truth authentically, to live in your truth transparently, and most of all, to love in truth fearlessly.
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