Charity is the Best Policy

Guest Blogger Evan Curry—Have you ever heard "honesty is the best policy?" Everyone
says it, right? Have you ever put that into practice? "Uhh…" – yeah, my thought
exactly.

I had an exit-interview from my job today – a job from which
I got laid off about two weeks ago – a
decision I didn’t necessarily agree with, but with the economy in the state
that it is, I guess I could’ve expected it. But I mean, who likes being laid
off?

My thought going into the exit-interview was, "Honesty is
the best policy. Just be honest, and tell them how it is." Fortunately, on the
way to the interview, I had a bit of a revelation – "how honest should I be? Brutally honest? Would Jesus be brutally
honest?" So, I sat in my car and said, "Honesty isn’t the best policy. Perhaps,
charity is."

As I sat down and spoke to the exit-interviewer, he asked me
to reflect on some of the weaknesses of the organization. I told him but with charity. Did I need to tell him
that I felt unjustly let go, and that the place is now "going down the tubes,"
and if you don’t do something about it, you’re organization won’t be around in
5 years?!!! It would be honest. It’s how I felt. But I couldn’t speak to a
person like that and then claim that
I’m reflecting the love of Christ.

Was Jesus honest at times? You’d better believe it – have
you and your friends ever been called a "brood of vipers" by someone? Not very
sensitive, Jesus. But vengeance is the Lord’s so I thought Jesus could judge
the organization, if he wanted to. Jesus tended to stick up for people when the
religious were holding them down with unrealistic restrictions.

But Jesus also did many things with charity – the woman caught in adultery, for instance (cf. John 8).
He told people the truth-he was honest-but he did it with some charity. Was it
the exit-interviewer’s fault that I was laid off? No. So, I decided to show
some charity while I was being honest.

I think this carries over nicely into our worship. How many
of us have been in church leadership where someone was honest about his or her dislike but lacked charity? I think every church leader could raise his or her hand
and shout "Amen!" at that one.

I think it’s about time that we are honest and charitable. And maybe being
charitable means being quiet? I know
you may not like PowerPoint in your services, but be charitable about how you
approach it. I know you may not like the preaching coming from the TNIV and prefer the NIV, but why not be
charitable about this? Be honest, but be charitable, be understanding, and find
a good approach.

And maybe, just maybe, being charitable is being quiet and
putting our preferences aside. If we learn to be charitable, we can learn to
love and promote unity.

Then, charity, not honesty, is the best policy.