LOVE AND TRUTH Someone posed the question: Love and truth…which is more important for a Christian? Consider this illustration: Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. However, when sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride – common table salt – the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth (for example) is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to accept any sin or combine with various false doctrines in the name of love. This “Truthless Love” is the rallying cry of those who would embrace homosexuality, same-sex marriage, or any number of other sinful lifestyles. “Truthless Love” binds itself to sin and rejects the Bible—often condemning those who quote Scripture with the words “Who made you the judge?” (as they sit in judgment of those who just quoted Scripture). Isaiah 30:9-10 (NCV) warns us about people who “refuse to listen to the Lord’s teachings; (saying) ‘Don’t tell us the truth! Say things that will make us feel good. See only good things for us.’” On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive and sometimes even poisonous. “Loveless Truth” is the stuff of Pharisees. Spoken without love, truth can turn people away from the gospel. These are the types of folks who quote Scripture, but really don’t care if others go to hell or not. They can’t talk to “sinners” without feeling smug in their self-righteousness. They condemn the sinner without offering hope for change or forgiveness. However, when truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth.” Christians who combine the power of both these “elements” are able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. These are the types of people who can speak truth in love. They can say something is sin without being happy that the person they’re talking to or about is facing judgment by God. Jesus is love…but He is also truth. He loved us so much that He willingly died on the cross to forgive our sins. But He also loved us enough to warn us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)