Men, Speak Truth to Others
Permission to Speak Freely: Part 1 (Motivation Monday #1)
You are free to speak your mind. We’re blessed in the United States to have a foundational law that broadly protects that freedom.
But elite actors keep pushing for restrictions on speech, mostly with the guise of “misinformation.”
When power limits speech, it cuts off avenues of thought that could lead to truth. The logical reason for doing so is because the elites feel threatened by whatever truth is disallowed.
But people lie. You can’t say anything you want. Shouldn’t there be lines? Where should they be?
Let’s make it simple. The First Amendment protects what Jefferson calls “the rights of conscience.” He considered them to be the most precious protections of the Constitution. Relevant philosophical history considered it a natural right—but with some practical limitations when used in civilization.
As a “right of conscience” what you say is ultimately between you and God. But between you and others, there’s a world of potential outcomes from your speech.
Rather than getting caught up in the philosophy, let’s get practical.
A Right & Responsibility
You’ve always had the right to free speech. Like all true rights, God created you with it. The elites can’t take it away.
In the wild, you can “say anything you want.”
However, the parallel responsibility is that you may experience consequences when you speak in public. And sometimes when you don’t. Whatever your choice, be ready for that.
If you blast someone, you will reap the consequences. If you persuade them, different consequences.
This encourages some commonsense prudence. Prudence ranges from, “If I say something offensive, I might hurt this relationship,” to the worst case, “I might upset the social or political apple cart, and be attacked, imprisoned, or killed.” Socrates, Jesus, His apostles, reformers, scientists, civil rights advocates, and countless others have experienced violent reactions for speaking their minds—from both elites and plebs. It’s a manly tradition.
Why?
A Spiritual Battle
Speech and its stand-ins necessarily involve a stance on truth and reality. That means they also engage with right and wrong, good and evil.
We get this deeply. That’s why it’s courageous to tell the truth.
Among folks who are doing—or fixin’ to do—bad things, speaking the truth exposes them. It makes them squirm because of their guilt—even if they protest that they’re doing nothing wrong. From a biblical understanding, you’re stirring their conscience. You better believe that’ll get a negative reaction.
Right or wrong reach deep into your soul. It’s reflexive to react personally when someone challenges those convictions.
Conscience is why making speech as free as possible is so important. Censorship and compelled speech both distort reality and morality. You can’t have a clear conscience if the truth is off limits or if you’re forced to say anything. It will rot your soul.
Should we stay out of it to avoid consequences?
That is the coward’s way—a different soul rot. It lacks true love.
The Fire Inside
The prophet Jeremiah describes God’s word as a fire burning in his heart and his bones. He cannot hold it in (Jer. 20:9).
Many Christians feel the same when it comes to truth and morality.
Conscience is a guide, but it’s fallible. Truth will offend it. Nobody is safe.
Scripture holds a treasury of wisdom about when and how to use our speech (The 10 Commandments, Psalms, Proverbs, Matthew 12:36, James). There are Godly standards. There are also ways to be discerning and tactful—sometimes holding your tongue and sometimes speaking boldly.
But the expectation is that we will seek the truth and then share it.
There are also promises that we will face trouble when we stand up for God and His Truth (Matthew 10:22, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Timothy 3:12, Acts). But there are deeper promises of His presence through that trouble (Psalm 23, John 16:33).
Truth itself can be offensive. But it is necessary:
To break the power of lies
To understand the world
To live rightly and thrive
To find solution to our problems
To promote peace and liberty
To find salvation and forgiveness
The world needs all the truth it can get. If you know the truth, then speak it wisely and lovingly to help others. Especially for your children!
Don’t hold the fire inside.
You have permission to speak freely.
In addition to Imago Dad, Brandon Wilborn writes fantasy with spiritual themes. His current project is a series for young readers about a dog with an imagination that highlights the classic virtues of our Judeo-Christian heritage. But he’s already got a couple of fantasy books and stories available at BrandonWilborn.com