TRUTH,
RESULTS OF
KITTY Dukakis was interviewed on 20/20 and made public her addictions. Not only was she taking pills and drinking alcohol, but she was drinking rubbing alcohol and nail remover—anything that had a tidbit of alcohol. During the interview, she admitted that she didn’t begin to come to grips with her problem until she finally faced the truth that she was, indeed, an addict. As long as she could give excuses, as long as she could blame it on the campaign, as long as she could blame it on the pressure, as long as she blamed it on something else and did not deal with the truth, she was killing herself. When Ms. Dukakis came to understand the truth, then she was able to get something done. Some of us won’t get better until somebody gets the guts to tell us the truth.1006
[Confrontation; Truth, Speaking the]
Eph. 4:15; James 5:19–20
YEARS ago, The Betty Ford Story aired on television. This was a movie that told the story of her addiction and recovery. At a point during the movie, a fairly emotional scene took place. The family is all sitting around confronting Betty Ford. Her son says, “Mother, you are destroying yourself; you are destroying this family, and you are killing yourself. Mother, you are a drunk, you are an addict.” The mother was infuriated. She told her son that he was being very disrespectful and questioned his right to speak to her that way. She said, “How can you say these things to me? I am your mother!” The boy said, “Mother, I can say it because it is the truth.” This confrontation was the catalyst for the establishment of the Betty Ford Clinic. Now this same place helps a lot of other people overcome their addictions. Many of the people who have come to the clinic were able to face their addictions because, like Betty Ford’s son, someone had the guts to tell the truth.1007
[Confrontation; Truth, Speaking the]
Eph. 4:15; James 5:19–20
IF SOME of those folks who went to Jonestown, Guyana, had asked for the truth, they’d be alive today. If somebody had asked Jim Jones about his lifestyle—his promiscuity, for instance—and asked him to validate his teachings and lifestyle with the Book of Truth, people would have seen him as a false teacher. They would have known the truth and wouldn’t have willingly taken cyanide and died. No one stopped to ask, “Is this the truth?”1008
[False Religion; Truth, Importance of]