HRO: (7) Duty to Speak Up, Speaking the Truth in Love

I think that the HRO concept of “speaking up” deserves more discussion and that the concept of “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4: 15) relates directly to this concept. I said earlier that the “Body of Christ” idea also relates to empowerment to speak up—and I find it interesting that the Body of Christ is referred to in the context of “speaking the truth in love.”  The whole passage is “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”  Because I still think that the Body of Christ concept belongs more clearly with discussions of the HRO principle “deference to expertise”, we will hold that for later—but to me, finding these concepts closely tied in scripture indicates their innate and enduring truth.  But I digress.

Ephesians 4: 15 tells us to speak the truth in love.  The verse starts with the word “instead”, which should immediately refer us back up into earlier passages for contrast:  what are we not to be doing; what things should we avoid in favor of speaking the truth in love?  The entire chapter describes the unity which Christian believers should demonstrate: a unity founded up on love, humility and peace, and a unity in which each person uses their gifts to further the proclamation of the gospel and God’s kingdom on earth.  The “instead” guides us to reject childish thinking; to reject indecisiveness and discontent; to reject cunning, craftiness and scheming (see verse 14).  If our goal is unity—certainly unity in Christ, but even for a secular organization, unity of purpose and culture—then childish scheming and petty discontent is counterproductive to that goal.  The opposite of those concepts is “speaking the truth in love.”

I feel that I should be clear here.  My looking for HRO principles in scripture is not meant to obscure the message of forgiveness and salvation which is central to all of scripture; my desire is to find Godly wisdom in scripture because I believe God is the source of all wisdom and scripture is His revelation of Himself.  That said, in this Ephesians 4 passage, the same conditions which are conducive to the proclamation of the gospel are conducive to safe, productive, efficient work.  The first Commission in Genesis was to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth; the second Commission in Matthew is to proclaim the gospel to the world:  it should come as no surprise that the two calls intersect in one concept, that of peace and civility being a foundation for all Godly activities.  Conditions that are conducive to unity in the faith and fullness in Christ (vs 13) will certainly help create a good workplace, a good neighborhood, or a good nation.  “Speaking the truth in love” is applicable whether we are preaching the gospel or speaking up for safety.

“Speaking the truth in love” contains two distinct concepts:  the first is one of substance, the second is one of style.  Simply speaking the truth refers only to substance, to objective facts:  you made a mistake; you made a decision that resulted in loss of life or damage to resources; you failed to follow protocol and it resulted in harm.  But speaking the truth in love refers to style, to intent, motivation and desired outcome.  Doing things “in love” gets to the fourth principle of HROs, a commitment to resilience; the way that an organization trains and expects people to speak the truth impacts both immediate actions and the creation of a healthy culture.  A workplace truly committed to zero harm views each person as intrinsically valuable toward those efforts; therefore, the goal is to keep each member of the team fully engaged, fully committed.   Difficult truths must be spoken:  errors must be identified so they can be mitigated and corrected.  But those truths must be spoken in love to retain trust and commitment by team members.  There is no “gotcha’ moment” in an HRO; it is not about catching people, it is about finding and correcting errors before they result in harm.

Ephesians 4: 25 – 32 mirrors the concepts of verses 1 – 16.  Again we are reminded to speak truthfully and put away lies (vs 25) and we are told to be selective in what we say, choosing to speak only what will help build up other people (vs 29).  Interestingly, while we are told “in your anger do not sin” (vs 26); the implication is that there may be circumstances where anger is appropriate (recall Jesus’ righteous anger when he cleansed the temple, Matthew 21).  But we are to intentionally reject sin when we are angry (vs 26), to deal with anger quickly (vs 26b) and not allow satan a foothold in our minds and hearts (vs 27).  Duty and freedom to speak up requires that people be fully invested and fully engaged; in that environment of ownership, observation of errors could easily result in passionate responses—even in anger.  “Why did you not follow the protocol established?!” “Do you not see what could have happened?!” But the commitment to “speaking the truth in love” ensures that the passionate response to prevent harm does not result in sin—“Why did you not follow the protocol” is not followed by “you are such an idiot”.  Instead, we speak the truth in love and we do not simplify observations (how simple it is to call someone an idiot!)  Why wasn’t the protocol followed; is there a need for retraining, for an explanation of the risks involved, for more rest to ensure adequate concentration?  “In your anger do not sin” is not the same as “do not get angry”—instead, we are to harness that impassioned response for right-ness toward protecting the innocent and preserving a zero-harm environment.   We “speak the truth in love”, controlling both the substance and the style of our interactions with others.

1)      Read Ephesians 4: 1 - 16.   We are admonished to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (vs 1b) and to be humble, gentle, patient and loving.  How does this relate to the call to speak the truth in love?  How might you live out speaking the truth in love in your workplace?  

2)      Consider a specific instance at work—an opportunity you had to correct an error, or an opportunity for someone to correct you.  How was that instance handled with love….or not?  How might you approach a similar situation in a better way in the future?

3)      Do you “speak the truth in love” to yourself?  That is, are you honest in your assessments of your own behaviors?  Are you unfairly harsh or unfairly lenient?

4)      Read Ephesians 4: 25 – 32.  What other characteristics are you as a Christian to demonstrate?  How does this passage mirror the concepts in verses 1 – 16?  According to verse 32, what is the prime motivator of our behaviors? How does this impact your interactions with others—your ability to speak the truth in love?  

5)      We are forgiven children of God.  We do not live in fear of His wrath, but live out the love and forgiveness we have in Him.  How does this impact how you think about and treat yourself?  Meditate on the truth of your forgiveness and redemption in Christ.  Review your relationships with others and your perspective of yourself in light of your status as child of God.