(2 minutes read)
Pinocchio is a wooden puppet character created in 1883 by Carlo Collodi in his book “The adventures of Pinocchio” which became very popular in 1940 after the release of a film with the same title from the Walt Disney's studio productions.
What was curious about Pinocchio is that his nose grew every time he told a lie. This imaginary puppet makes us wonder, what size would our nose have if this phenomenon would also happen with humans? To answer that question the idea is not to compare the size of our nose with the one of other people, but to look at the mirror and realize if our words carry truths or lies.
There is the tendency in our days to wrongly think that the “white lies” are necessary for the good coexistence between people. Meaning that to keep everyone happy, it is necessary to say only what it is convenient and pleasant, and avoid the inconvenient and unpleasant aspect about whatever needs to be said.
The problem is that it is impossible to build over lies, we can only build over the truth. Eventually the lies are discovered and totally destroy the apparent good coexistence so wished for. This is exactly what Jesus tried to alert the disciples, teaching them that for relationships to grow beyond superficialities and become deeper, we need to learn to say the truth in love because that is what truly edifies people.
To build deep relationships we need to develop our capacity to say the truth without avoiding the unpleasant aspect of the issue, but to say it in love so that the other person will understand it and accept it. For that to happen we must not only say what's needed in love to allow the other to digest well the words said, but also be open to the reply that the other may have for us.
As we look at the mirror we can certainly see some of Pinocchio in all of us, the challenge however, is to be able to look at the mirror and see Jesus!
- Who do you see when you look at the mirror?
- How to get rid of Pinocchio?
(Jesus and oaths, Mathew 5:33-37 / Seasoned
words, Colossians 4:6)
Truth be told.. l say l'm fine but l'm not.. l'm broken. Why? I spoke truth and l am suffering as a result. The reality is that truth spoken requires response, accountability, consequences. It's easier to believe the lies.. less work. How do we get rid of Pinocchio? Deal with the liars. Respond to truth told.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the relationship to who we speak, conversations can be quite difficult. But the challenge is always to speak truth in a way that the other person will understand. Not being judgemental but supportive. I pray that God will help you in that endeavor!
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