Pigpen

I never thought much about Pigpen while growing up, but he was one of my favorite characters in Peanuts.  I guess I related to him as a little boy with a kinship to dirt.  You remember him don’t you?  He could be seen coming from a distance because a cloud of dust and dirt followed him in each frame. You can encounter people like that too sometimes, whose words are often toxic instead of encouraging.  You can see the cloud around them as they approach you.  I read an enlightening devotional last weekend entitled “Speaking the Truth in Love.” It asked two questions that safeguard our speech and help us to know when to speak and when to be silent.

What exactly does Ephesians 4:15 mean for us to speak the truth in love?

Does it mean that we should always make the truth known in every situation and never remain silent under any circumstances?

The answer is to be found in the word love. The author, Guy Richard, offered two ways in which love affects our speech.  It will affect how we speak the truth and it will affect what truth we decide to speak and what truth we decide to leave unspoken. He then offers two questions that help us apply this verse:

• Are we really chiefly concerned for the best interest of the other person?
• Or is it a selfish desire to clear the air or get things off our chest?

This truth has encouraged me this week to remember the wisdom of my grandfather who was slow to speak and quick to listen.  I remember how he sat at the table and listened to all of us, then would finally speak as a wise chief over the younger clan.  Let’s each of us apply this truth in our lives each week.

Coach/PJ