The Truth Hurts

The Galatian churches had changed. They were no longer believing the same doctrine they had once confessed and now they are angry at Paul for calling them out on their move. How mean! Paul had preached the gospel to these people, and they had believed with their whole heart, so much so that they were persecuted for the sake of the gospel (Galatians 3:4). Some smooth talkers came to town and in no time at all, the churches had abandoned what they once believed for this different teaching.

The truth did not change. Paul had not changed. The gospel had not changed. The Galatian churches changed. Once, they loved Paul so much that they would have given him their own eyeballs, if it were possible so he could be relieved of his physical ailments. Now, they look at him with suspicion and anger for the very same reasons they loved him a short time prior. "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16). The false teachers knew the same thing that Paul did – once someone becomes embittered against another person, it rarely matters how tight the argument or how logical the premise, the emotion of disliking the person will overpower reasoned thought. They couldn't defeat Paul's gospel, so they resorted to destroying Paul in the eyes of the Christians. Now anything Paul said is soured because of their prejudice against him.

The truth hurts when it hits a sore spot. It’s easy to hear truth that confirms what we already believe. We love flattery, especially about what we think and believe. When confronted with truth that proves us wrong, we get defensive because we feel that it attacks our identity and feel it a personal slight. Some neurological studies have shown that the brain interprets being proven wrong and being under physical attack in a similar way. The truth really does hurt when we are proven wrong. When truth goes against us, our depraved human nature would rather kill the messenger rather than admit wrong. "Paul, that old fashioned fundamentalist. Paul, majoring on the minors. Paul, always harping about something, standing in the way of progress. There goes Paul, making a big deal out of doctrine again, thinking he’s always right."  When told that we are wrong, the first reaction is to disagree and to defend ourselves, which makes sense. Just because someone says you are wrong, doesn't mean  you are, but no one is right about everything. Rather than dealing with the truth, the easiest way to handle this prickly situation is to get angry at the person rebuking you and then start finding things wrong with him. Make the man the enemy, then you don’t have to listen to him anymore. When the truth hurts, we need to repent instead of making excuses and making enemies.  Proverbs 9:8 says, "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." Wisdom views correction as mercy.