I was thinking about this subject as I was filling my coffee pot. I need truth in my life just as much as (if not more than) I need coffee. Without my coffee, I just don’t feel like I am at my best. Likewise truth. If I am never confronted with it, I will not be at my best. God has provided several vehicles through which my true self has been revealed to me: friends, family, husband, children, and self- examination through life crisis. All have reveled truth. Some truth is up lifting and strengthening; some is humbling and cries out for me to deal with the ugliness within. Truth is something I need to see. But what is healthy truth and what is just bitter grounds?
Read Ephesians 4:14-16 (NIV)
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Sometimes after a cup filled more with grounds than coffee, you can doubt yourself. Left with conversations in your head that make you feel tossed about and adrift. Ask yourself what Christ’s truth is and who you are in him. Ask him to convict your heart on what areas you need to lift up to him and allow his will to take over. Ask for his peace and his guidance to know the difference between truth and bitter grounds. (He might even guide you that it’s time to start getting you coffee from another supplier!) If handed a cup of grounds to drink you would refuse it and not place it to your lips. When both coffee and grounds are in the cup together, it’s hard to see which is which. You will ingest both unknowingly.
I’ve thought a lot about the truth I have received and I have given. Was a filter used? Robust, powerful, and eye opening: were the grounds of bitterness, vengeance, and condescending mockery the last tastes left in the mouth? When it is time to offer truth, when it is time for the confrontation, will there be enough strength and maturity to just serve the truth and filter out what does not need to be drunk in the first place? If yes, the receiver may be more willing to come and share their morning muffin, thoughts, life, love, and coffee with you.
Amy Dubois’ an educator turned stay-at-home mom and entrepreneur. She’s the mother of three children, who bring her the greatest joy and challenges. Using her background in education and mothering, she’s developed a system to help parents discipline with consistency, clear consequences, dignity, and love. For more information visit http://www.msbeehavedesigns.com Copyright © 2006-2008 Ms Beehave Designs, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be freely reproduced, edited, or published without consent.
