TILL

Truth is hard to tell because it is hard to hear

Speaking truth to a soft-hearted man is easy because he wants to hear it. Because he is supple, he reacts with grace to ideas that challenge his beliefs. For him, the truth is not hard to hear.

For the hard-hearted man it is different. Because he is rigid rather than supple, he reacts defensively when confronted with anything that questions his beliefs. If he has power, he will use it to stifle the truth. If he lacks power, he will clasp his hands over his ears so that he cannot hear it. In both cases the truth will be more than the hard-hearted man can bear.

So, what then for the speaker of truth? Should he only plant where the soil is already fertile and prepared to receive, leaving the hard-hearted man to fend for himself? No, but neither should he cast seeds upon fallow ground thinking anything will grow. First, he must till the soil by turning, churning, and aerating it. Only by first breaking down the hard heart will he be able to start planting truth.

Until then, the truth teller will find that truth is hard to tell because it is hard to hear.