But I don’t simply want to say, “Don’t say it!” I want to explore the assumptions that have made this phrase our culture’s calling card. By looking at two problems with the phrase, we can examine ourselves and see how much we have adopted these cultural assumptions, even if we don’t use the phrase, “Speak your truth.”

My son-in-law Dan Franklin is teaching pastor at Life Bible Fellowship in Upland, California. Dan is married to my daughter Karina, and the father of three of my grandsons, but that’s not the main reason he’s one of my favorite teachers. He was one of our speaking pastors at my church for years, and I really miss his teaching. (But since he speaks more at the church he’s at now, I’m able to hear him more online, and that’s my consolation!) In this video (and the transcript below), Dan talks about the problems behind the phrase, “Speak your truth.”

Listen to what Dan has to say. —Randy Alcorn

“Speak your truth.” That’s a phrase that has become common in popular culture over the past year. It was perhaps most popularized by Oprah Winfrey at the 2018 Golden Globes when she said, “Speaking your truth is the most powerful weapon we all have.”

I’ll let the cat out of the bag early on in this post. I don’t think this phrase is helpful. I don’t think Christians (or anyone, for that matter) should use it. But I don’t simply want to say, “Don’t say it!” I want to explore the assumptions that have made this phrase our culture’s calling card. By looking at two problems with the phrase, we can examine ourselves and see how much we have adopted these cultural assumptions, even if we don’t use the phrase, “Speak your truth.”

Problem #1:

This phrase tells us that we are our own source. To speak your truth is to assume that the there is some truth that you yourself possess. It assumes that each person is his or her own source for truth and authority. This leads us to believe that no one else has the right to correct us. No one can tell us what to think, what to believe, or what to say. After all, we’re just speaking our truth.

Those of us who are Christians believe that truth is not something within us, but something outside of us. We believe that there is objective reality and objective morality because there is a God who has set reality into motion. We believe that Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life. We believe that there is truth out there, and the truth does not change based on our perception of reality.

In fact, we believe that the truth is something that confronts us. My perception of how safe it is to cross the street matters very little if a car that I didn’t see runs into me. My view of reality will not change the truth of the car’s presence. In a similar way, Christian belief is centered not on a subjective idea, but on a truth claim about an event. At the core, we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. If he wasn’t, then our message is false. If he was, then we must take Jesus seriously. But either way, my belief (or disbelief) in the truth does not change reality.

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