Have you ever hedged the truth or not fully responding to avoid lying because you thought the other person would/might be offended by your expression? A lot? Could you be incorrect about the other person… just not willing to risk it? But, have you ever considered that your action(s) was a denial l of you? Dare I say – betrayal?!!! Yet isn’t that precisely what you do when you engage in those behaviors?! Or how do you justify?
Equivocation may seem a good approach, but isn’t it still a lie? Whether deliberate or ‘accidental’, what do you do when you catch yourself in a lie? How do you explain yourself when it’s another person who catches you in a lie? How do you explain yourself… to you? Lies are insidious and, when exposed, threaten relationships because now trust is broken. I would argue that equivocation is lying. Half-truths? Not. They don’t exist.
Perhaps you think my standard is a bit harsh. Perhaps. But to be honest, my reason is that I don’t want to disappoint my Lord. I don’t think He approves of lying… even in the guise of ‘equivocation’. Do I never lie? I try not to but I still do at times. However, when I do, I try and immediately (when another person is involved) go to the other person and apologize for what I said and provide them with what ‘truth’ I do know.
Actually, when you look at it – what does equivocation provide for us? Only a temporary ‘cover’ because the truth will always emerge somehow, someway, at some time. And when it does and we are seen for what we did… we have accomplished nothing. If, at the beginning, we tell the truth as we see and understand it, then the other person can correct us if we’re wrong. If the relationship is so fragile that it is broken when we speak what we know, then it will always fail anyway. We only postpone the inevitable. Is it worth carry around the feelings of equivocation?
Bottom line – when you do, you will get burned. And this gets you…???
