Commentary on the Gospel of
Truth over Diplomacy
A 1937 definition (anonymous) of diplomacy goes thus: “The art of telling you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to going there.” Well, no one can accuse Jesus or apostle James of being too diplomatic. Today’s passages would suffice to prove that they liked to call a spade a spade. There are no sweeteners, no oiling the hand; just direct, in-your-face statements of truth. They were not meant to antagonize anyone, but only to ensure that the truth is boldly told. Of course, it did cost them their lives, because the world does not really like to hear the truth. In the contemporary world where even some Christian churches, taking after the corporate world, are over-conscious of their public relations image, we will do well to remind ourselves that our ultimate vocation is to witness to the truth even at the cost of our lives, and not necessarily to ensure institutional survival.
