The Truth about Mr Darcy....and other stuff....

Y'know what I love about Mr Darcy?

No, it's not a trick question! I love that bit in 'Pride and Prejudice' when he says that he abhors disguises and always seeks to tell the truth. This is proven later in the narrative when his sister, Georgiana, says that it is indeed so to Lizzie when she suggests that Mr Darcy may have over estimated her pianoforte playing abilities.

Mr Darcy comes across at first as rude, arrogant and fairly well up himself........but as the story progresses, we find that he is indeed a truthful, kind and honourable man. He just tells it how it is! Although he loses a few friends (or good opinions from some groups of people, such as Mr. Wickham's friends), he ends the story with a gorgeous, witty wife, great friends and the honour of being swooned over by zillions of women throughout history.

It may cost him some small discomforts along the way, but in the end, truth and honour win with much better long term benefits.

I want to be like that!

I want to be someone who speaks truth. I want to speak it tactfully and respectfully, but I want to be someone who tells it like it is, regardless of the cost. Because as christians know, there is only one person we're in the business of pleasing.....and it's Jesus Christ.

So, I've started the year with a new resolve: speak truth!

So far it's going well, mainly because I haven't had a situation where satan's lies have come up through someone face-to-face. But on Facebook recently, I spoke truth. And it did not go down well with those who did not agree!

Now, I'm not going to debate the issue here, but it is a very hot topic in politics and our community at the moment (but if you do pick up what it is and want to discuss it, I'm more than willing to - so PM me!). I had seen from other blogs and articles  that the supporters of this minority group were happy to preach 'tolerance' and 'acceptance'.....but for them to actually practice it was another issue entirely.

Telling the truth cost me time, first of all. I spent a bit of time each night responding to arguments laced with personal attacks and labels with an odd impertinent question thrown in! I spent time praying about it and processing it while I went about my work. Secondly, it cost me an acquaintance - someone I had lost contact with, but emerged in the midst of the debate to ridicule me and tell me what a bad person I was for having my opinion, is now not likely to be my friend on FB!

Thirdly, for a while it took away my sense of peace and my shelteredness. But, after the little storm was over, I was very glad I'd stood up for what was right, even though most people didn't like to hear it. All of this took my energy! I was a bit tired when it was all over and folks had gone off in a huff (well, it's how it seemed on FB, anyway). It only took a day or two to get back to normal (just before christmas - eeeek!).

See, it was the very first time I've stood directly in the way of a popular opinion and argued against it. And of course, I refrained from using labels and personal attacks! It was a bit scary, but also wonderfully liberating and uplifting. I just kept praying, "God is with me and I will not be afraid of speaking truth!". And He was.

So, why the big post on this topic? Well, two reasons: one, I used to be a very shy and timid girl. My speciality was being invisible. I thought I was ugly, useless and not really good at anything. When I look back at my high school photos, I can't believe that I thought I was so gross. My smile and dark eyes masked a whole heap of satan's lies about who I was and what my life was going to be like. When I went to uni, God rescued me and spoke truth to me through His word and my friends. I have to say, if it wasn't for God, my christian friends and my family, I'd be in a very, very bad state right now.

My confidence in who I am and what I'm actually doing here on earth has increased exponentially since that April in 1999 when I forgave someone who'd devastated me as a child and decided to listen to God instead of the father of lies. Romans 8:28 says that "God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose..." and in my case, God has blessed my life to the point where I don't know how much more I can be blessed! The least I can do, for God saving my life, is to speak His truth wherever I go and to not be afraid of it!

Secondly, I want to encourage you to do the same. If you're comfortable and you're a christian, then something's wrong. The life of a christian is meant to be full of struggles and hardships as well as blessed times. That's how God transforms us - it's like getting the diamond out of the rough. This does NOT mean that I'm encouraging you to go out and be the moral police or bash people over the head with their sinfulness or be a hard case. Our world is full of so pain and suffering - there is no need to inflict more with harsh words, personal attacks or violence. But it is possible to speak truth without being abusive. And now, more than ever, our morally corrupt world needs more christians to stand up and simply speak truth and not be afraid of what people will think of them or whether people will be offended.

A key element to this was education - I never stood up for what I knew was right because I didn't have the knowledge. Now, I do. I read all that I can on a variety of hot topics to know what God says so that I can discuss issues with people. I'm still not entirely confident, but I'm learning.

Just like Mr Darcy, we may be misunderstood, we may be ridiculed by a small group of vocal people, but the long term benefits of being a person who speaks truth tactfully and respectfully far outweigh any hardship during this lifetime.