One of the most popular scenes of all time comes from the movie "A Few Good Men." In that movie Jack Nicholson said the now memorable line, "You can't handle the truth."
Many do not want to even hear the truth, that is if it has to do with a shortcoming or a personal fault. Everyone likes to hear how well they are doing. On the other hand, everyone remembers vividly comments from the critics.
So there will always be some tension because we need both. The compliments and the criticism. The difference is is the critic trying to help you or hurt you. Is the critic your friend? Is he looking out for your best interest? Is he trying to help you reach your goals?
I suppose most people, well at least I do, often wonder, "Doesn't he have a friend who will tell him the truth?"
Think of American Idol. Now you must admit, some of those who show up are horrible. Were there no friends who could have saved the individual from national embarrassment?
BP. It took a while, but they seem to have finally gotten the PR problem right. They probably received some valuable feedback. Perhaps if the truth had come sooner they would be spending less on advertising now.
When the truth does not come there are consequences. I bet you can think of a friend who lost a job because there was no truth telling.
Admittedly, some people can't handle the truth and will not accept it. Just to be clear we are talking about the truth, not personal biases. That means you must have the 'right' people speaking into your life.
Otherwise they will think 'you' are the one being bullheaded. I often wonder what it's like when parents encourage a kid on all the while telling the child he is 'good' at what he is doing. I see it happen in soccer all the time. Some kids will never make it in soccer. Their parents thing they are great. The day will come when reality hits. That's not fair to the child. Truth telling.
Proverbs 27:6 (NLT) "Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy" makes it clear that we need to hear the truth. So here are some questions to see how serious you are:
1. Are you actively seeking the truth?
2. Are you willing to admit that you are not gifted in an area that your parents said or led you to believe you were good at?
3. Who are the people you are asking? At the least they should be friends and have wisdom in the particular area.
4. When was the last time someone spoke truth into your life and you made some changes?
