I cannot think of a politician anywhere that tells the truth 100%. I do not believe any of the sports figures accused of a misbehaving that didn’t doing something that is at best a poor decision. I have significant doubts about the integrity of most people at the top of the business ladder. My doubts are not unusual.
We wonder about the authenticity of people’s words and actions. Clearly we put ourselves in their shoes at times, assuming they will behave as we would in a particular situation. Yet there are other times that the message is either too good to be true (which means it usually is), clearly uninformed, or radically different from what we are currently experiencing. In each case a flood of fears, uncertainties, and doubts come to our mind, forcing us to pause and wonder as to what comes next.
Do we challenge? Do we express our FUDS, a simple word for fears, uncertainties, and doubts? Do we swallow our bodies’ reaction and push on? Is there a single right answer to your concerns or mine?
There is one critical point to remember. When you or I have a FUD what happens next is a choice you and I make. We are responsible for it. Nobody else! If it is my decision to make about what happens next then, in the appropriate time, place, and manner, I can give the other person the opportunity to respond to my FUD(s).
Clearly there are situations when the person involved doesn’t want the truth to be known; inevitably this comes through the body language during the moment. Yet the open questions lead those carry truth with them an opportunity to get it on the table. It is in these moments that the power of words that are true becomes apparent. I find people responding to “truth” in all in forms, in all types of settings, above and beyond the messengers.
Somebody once asked; “Oh, so you're a prophet!” (John 4.19) Great question that received an even greater answer. Can I muster the same courage today?
