Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

The whole of life is about saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

But it’s worse than being duplicitous if, by doing so, we upset people.

We can only be blessed in saying what we mean and meaning what we say when we have oriented our hearts toward love. And to love, suchlike, is to consider everyone more important than the self.

Having achieved a heart for others through the blessing of the Lord, we are then primed and positioned to say what we mean and mean what we say – because truth is worse than hopeless when without love.

It will take a special courage of vulnerability with ourselves to risk the exposure of our own feelings in saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

We can only manage such a task, that requires a fullness of consistent and selfless love, when we are in sync with God, for only by God have we the vision of what can be achieved – a life replete of virtue.

To say what we mean is loving when others are blessed. To mean what we say is our commitment to truth.

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For a Christian meaning what we say and saying what we mean is vital. We are people of integrity as much as we are people of the Book. Indeed, the Book is about the integrity of virtue. If we miss that, we miss the whole purpose of grace. Grace gives so that others might receive; Jesus on the cross and resurrected, one man, for all. The Father’s grace for each one of us.

Our grace – which is to say what we mean (to speak the truth in love) and mean what we say (of and in love) – is the measure of our submission before God.

Our grace is the epitome of the Father’s grace – to put our needs on the cross and crucify our desires so others’ desires may be satisfied. It will cost us to say what we mean and mean what we say from this backdrop.

Our grace is the fortitude of our being knowing we are nothing now without Christ, but we are everything now with him.

To say what we mean and mean what we say is our privilege in a life that is blessed by God when we realise it is how we are to love people with the truth.

© 2015 S. J. Wickham.