Speaking the Truth in Love vs Lovingly Speaking Truth

Woman Taken in Adultery by Rembrandt

Speaking the Truth in Love vs Lovingly Speaking Truth

Sometimes “speaking the truth in love” is really just candy coated judgmental spiritual pride. How many times have you heard the phrase “I’m telling you this in love” and then felt like you were just punched in the gut. I wonder if we flipped that phrase in Ephesians 4:15 around to “lovingly speaking truth” maybe there would be less spiritual abuse in the church.

 Having the truth and being right shouldn’t overrule the command to show compassion and understanding towards others. In Matthew’s Gospel, when the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with sinners, they felt that they were right and speaking the truth according to Jewish customs. They were overly concerned that everyone was following their rules than with the individual needs of those that Jesus was sharing a meal with. Jesus told them to go and learn what the Prophet Hosea meant when he said that God desires compassion and not sacrifice.

Look at the story in John’s Gospel about the woman caught in adultery, those who brought her to Jesus felt that they were right – that they were speaking the truth according to the Law of Moses. They had chapter and verse saying that the woman should be stoned to death. But Jesus’ response was to lovingly speak truth by first deescalating the situation, then extending forgiveness and compassion before telling her to go and sin no more. As James said, mercy triumphs over judgment.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Happy Hippie Father’s Day

 Remember the days of old; consider the years long past; ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.

(Deuteronomy 32:7)

Wishing you all a Happy Hippie Father's Day! And remember, us old guys be knowing stuff...

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Mary Dyer

Mary Dyer being led
to her execution on June 1, 1660
(unknown 19th-century artist)

Mary Dyer (c. 1611–1660) was a Puritan‑turned‑Quaker who became one of the most famous martyrs of early American religious intolerance. Her execution on June 1, 1660, on Boston Common, was the culmination of a long conflict between the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Puritan authorities and the emerging, radically egalitarian Quaker movement. 

Born Mary Barrett in England around 1611. Mary emigrated to Boston in 1635 with her husband, William Dyer.  

Initially a Puritan, she became involved in the Antinomian Controversy supporting Anne Hutchinson. After Hutchinson’s banishment, Dyer was also excommunicated and banished, moving to Rhode Island. 

Mary returned to England (1651–1657) and encountered the Society of Friends (Quakers) and embraced their teachings. Quakers were considered dangerous heretics by Puritan leaders because they rejected clergy, emphasized the “Inner Light,” allowed women to preach, and refused to show deference to civil authorities.

When she returned to New England in 1657, she immediately faced persecution. 

By the late 1650s, Massachusetts had enacted severe laws that provided for the banishment of Quakers on pain of death, imprisonment for returning, and execution for repeat offenders.

Dyer was imprisoned in 1657, banished twice, and threatened with execution if she returned.

She returned anyway, multiple times, believing obedience to God outweighed obedience to the colony’s laws. 

Her Final Defiance and Execution

In 1659, Dyer returned to Boston to support imprisoned Quakers. She was sentenced to death but reprieved at the gallows due to her son’s intervention. She was warned never to return.

In May 1660, she returned again, deliberately choosing martyrdom.  

When offered a final chance to recant, she replied:

“Nay, I cannot; for in obedience to the will of the Lord God I came, and in his will I abide faithful to the death.” 

She was hanged on June 1, 1660, becoming one of the four “Boston Martyrs.”

Her martyrdom is widely credited with helping shift public sentiment toward religious toleration, especially in New England. 

Peace, Love and Light!

Kevin (Cloud)