02.01.2010    Michael Fox CPCC, founder of m�agine!, is a professional coach and trainer, author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout the world. Michael is a Certified Practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.� Do you know someone who might benefit from our weekly email?    If the truth be told...       ...it's not always told very effectively. If there are things that are true, then--contrary to popular culture--it follows that there are things that are false. It can be difficult to discern what is true from what is false. And it can be perhaps more difficult still to engage in a profitable conversation around what is true. Paul encouraged his readers to, "Speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). Unfortunately, Paul's wisdom has been used for cover of poor behavior, under the guise of an accompanying "declaration of love." In reality, to "speak the truth in love," calls us forth to speak what we believe to be true with the spirit and the words that are most effective and affecting. Why then do some speak what they believe to be true with hateful and harmful ferocity? The reasons are many; however, one possibility's enough for now... Saul was a rising rabbinical star; Stephen was--as a friend once described him--a young Christian with a "meals-on-wheels" ministry. Their paths crossed one day, when the rabbinical authorities mortally stoned Stephen for his faith. Saul was a witness to and indeed, to some extent, a participant in Stephen's death. Stephen was violently murdered; but he peacefully "fell asleep," after praying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" (Acts 7:59-60). Stephen's peaceful death apparently had a profound impact upon Saul; for, immediately following Stephen's death, Saul began "ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women..." [Acts 8:1-4]. Not content to have decimated the church in Jerusalem, Saul, "still breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1-2), set out for Damascus, one hundred fifty miles north, to capture those who had fled Jerusalem. After several days of travel, as they neared the city of Damascus, Saul and his companions were startled by a brilliant light and a voice: "Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads" [Acts 26:14]. Terrified, Saul fell to the ground and cried, "Who art Thou, Lord?" "I am Jesus the Nazarene" (Acts 22:8). It's apparent from his conversation with Jesus that Saul was in pursuit of more than just Christians on the road to Damascus. According to Jesus, Saul's ferocious persecution of the church was somehow comparable to an ox kicking against a goad--a long wooden pole with a sharpened piece of iron at its tip. The ox-driver used a goad to compel an animal to continue, to stand still, or to change its course. Often the animal, angered by its prod, kicked back at the goad, only to further injure and infuriate itself. Jesus' comparison suggests that young Saul's tender conscience tormented him and filled him with doubt even as he intensified his efforts to persecute Jesus' disciples. Traveling to Damascus, Paul was in pursuit of peace, internal quietude. Although it's true that Saul later declared before the Sanhedrin, "I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day" [Acts 23:1], his "perfectly good conscience" should not be understood to reflect a conscience free from conflict. Although he lived in integrity to the "trappings" of Judasim, he yet struggled with the moral demands of the law (Romans 7:14-23). What Saul, the rising but troubled rabbinical star, witnessed in Stephen, the young Christian with a "meals-on-wheels ministry," was the soul's calm that had hitherto eluded Saul. So, what's the learning? Unable, either intellectually or willfully, to live in moral integrity to the very truth he espoused, Saul poured his anger into its defense. Unable to be glad, he got mad. Is it possible that some who defend what they believe to be true with hateful and harmful ferocity are, like Saul, trying to silence the angry self-recriminating voices of their own moral failures? Are you assuming this post is about "the other guy"? How might this reflection, if valid, allow you to have compassion on those who are religiously driven, but who are just, well, mean? How might you contend for your convictions--without being contentious? Michael Fox m�agine! 530/613.2774 407 Myrtle Drive Farmerville, LA, USA 71241   In addition to personal and professional coaching, m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching, employing its proprietary models --Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength-- as well as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator� curriculum published by CPP, the People Development People. Michael's books include  Complete in Christ, Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files. Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details. For additional information, visit our website at maginethepossibilities.net. Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching. On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees. View our archives!