Truth or Trite

Ever wonder what the difference is between the two?

It has been weighing on me for months and this post has been in the works for almost as long.  I may be rambling, but hear me out.

In the past few years, I have been pushed to my limits.  My idea of my limits of course, not God's.  But there have been some struggles.  We had an unexpected deployment with short notice and the struggles that come with that, as well as some tough personal issues for our family.  No more or less than others, I am sure, but personally just a hard time.

In those times I had many people reach out to us trying to help.  Some were helpful, some not.  At all.

But in both cases, they often spoke the same words.  God's Words.

It got me wondering why some were such a comfort and others seemed to just about push me off the edge of the cliff I was standing way too close to at times.

It came down to this for me- TRUTH or TRITE.

Truth- Truth is that which corresponds to reality.
Trite- overused and consequently of little import; lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use or excessive repetition

Now do not get me wrong, God's Word is ALWAYS truth.  Always!  And it will not come back to us void.

But sometimes the way it is shared can make all the difference in the word.  (Hang in there with me, I have spent a lot of time pondering this because it has weighed heavily on me.)

Here's what I found-
Friends who just throw a verse at you and run- that is trite!  I am not saying their hearts are not in the right place, but I will tell you that those words did not hit my heart in the right place.  What I saw instead was someone who

• wanted to put a quick band-aid on things and hope for the best
• was not ready to walk the dark path with me
• who did not have time to invest
• who popped off the first Bible verse they could remember and hoped it fit the situation

Friends who shared scripture with me and took the time to talk it out, now THAT was truth.  Yes, the same word of God maybe, but the heart behind the message seemed pure as well.  Now that may have been an unfair assessment on my part, but as my husband says often, perception is truth to the one receiving it.  These were the people who

• showed up daily in our lives, even if not physically
• who took the time to pray WITH us
• who spoke truth in love and did not run from the hard things we were walking through
• who took the time to share scripture that was truly relevant to our situation, not just a band-aid for the moment

See, I think it comes down to the heart of the person sharing.  Again, you can argue that is hard to know, but let's face it, it is usually pretty obvious.

When someone cares, you know it.  When someone hurts like you hurt, you feel it.  When someone grieves like you grieve, you see it.

And sometimes we just need to sit beside someone and hold their hand.  And just be quiet.

It can make all the difference between truth or trite.

Oh friends, let's be people who CARE, who enter into hard places with our friends and refuse to leave until they do as well, and who share God's word in love and out of love!  It makes a difference!
 

Go make a difference!

Blessings,