I am sure no one here present is a stranger to these words:
"Tell me the truth!"
"I want to know all the fact!!"
"I want you to be open & transparent with me!!!"
In fact there is hardly any relationship existing today where these words have not been used. Be it in a marriage relationship, a business relationship, in a casual relationship, a meaningful relationship etc. I'm sure all of us have in one way or another used these very words.
The demand of everyone today is to know the truth. No one wants to be deceived or kept in the dark and so we insist and insist and sometimes we threaten until the truth is revealed.
Personally, I believe that the quest towards knowing the truth is a great & must be encouraged but my simple question to you today is "DO YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HANDLE THE TRUTH?" In other words, the truth you're asking to be told if the other party decides to trust you & reveals it, how would you react? What would be your response?
Many relationship would break today if the other party decides to be 100% truthful and transparent & so driven by fear most people would prefer to keep the "past in the past". The reason for this many times is because they may have in the past experimented the act of "truth telling" only to discover their partner or boss don't have the capacity to manage the truth if revealed.
Asking to know all the truth, detail & facts a good move but how you handle the truth is incredibly important & would determine if the other party would trust you enough with more truths in the future.
My brother, how would you react if she tells you of her past life before the cross? How would you handle her dirty past & stupid decisions?
My sister, how would you react if he tells you of all the horrible things he has done in the past? How would you respond to the truth he revealing about his present struggles? Would you allow the truth he is revealing change your view of him?
How would you react if your husband tells you that the first 2 weeks after marriage he was sleeping with your best friend? What if your brother tells you the missing money you saved was stolen by him?
How would you handle the truth if your repentant employee tells you of all the money, he has stolen from you in the past? Or how many big time customers he has cornered to his new place of business?
How would you react if your friend told you all the things they did in your back to hurt you and assassinate your character?
It is not just enough to ask for the truth you must be able to handle the truth. Your reaction to the truth matters a lot.
Most people would tell you anything but the truth if they discover you are not matured enough to be trusted with the truth.