TRUTH-TELLING
Truth is to trust as Einstein is to physics and as the Wright brother are to flight. Edward R. Murrow once said, “Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit.” And Randy Pausch said: “If I only had three words of advice, they would be, ‘Tell the truth.’ If I got three more words, I’d add ‘All the time.’"
Trust starts with truth-telling—telling the naked truth. This is a metaphor for plain and unadorned truth from an ancient Roman fable. Truth and Falsehood went for a swim. Falsehood emerged from the water first, dressed in Truth’s clothes, and departed. Truth refused to wear the clothing Falsehood had left behind, preferring to go naked instead.
“What is the nature of truth? The New Testament says—and I believe—that truth is a person. I think truth is also a quality. The poet John Keats would have us believe that truth is beauty, and in many cases it is. Truth can at time be a promise. Truth can be communication. There are many wonderful ways in which to think about the concept of truth” as Max De Pree put it.
The Bible gives clear guidance on truth: “We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God” (2 Cor. 4:1–2).
There are six things that God detests—that he abhors. Among them is giving a false witness (Prov. 6:16–19). It is not just an offense on the person. It is an offense on God.
“God never lies” (Titus 1:2). Some translations say, “God cannot lie.” He is always truthful. There is no deception or dishonesty in God at all.
In contrast, Satan is a liar. He is the father of all lies (John 8:44). If we lie, we are doing something that will benefit me at your expense. We are assaulting the other person. We are also showing a lack of trust in God when we do not trust that He can work in a situation.
“A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club or a sword or a sharp arrow” (Prov. 25:18 ESV). Their actions assault people and murder reputations. It is the equivalent of pulling a gun on them. You are willfully intending to do malicious harm. It may be saying something that is untrue without saying all that is true. It could be repeating something someone has said without checking the facts.
Once someone tells a lie about a person or a ministry—especially if the lie is shared in cyberspace—the lie lives on and continues to harm the people and organizations.
Today we have the ability to slander people more effectively and more quickly than ever before in the history of the world because of technology. Today’s communication is constant, global, and permanent. You can get upset, key in a few words, and send it to the world—24/7.
About 40 times in John’s Gospel, we read: I tell you the truth, I tell you the truth, I tell you the truth. In instances, the Apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, said: “I am not lying” (Rom. 9:1 ESV). “I am the way, the truth and the life,” said Jesus (John 14:6 NIV). Jesus is the truth, He says the truth, and He does the truth. “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matt. 5:37 NKJV). We need to be plain-spoken people in our communication about who God is.
Truth is vital for Christ-centered ministries because:
• Truth flows from the Word of God. His Word is pure and unchangeable (Prov. 30:5).
• Truth reflects God’s character; lies reflect Satan’s character. When we speak the truth, we are imitators of God (John 8:44 and Eph. 5:1).
• God’s truth is the supreme weapon against the father of lies. Only when we know the truth and commit ourselves to obey it will we stand strong (Prov. 19:9; Ps. 101:7).
If we are not truth-tellers, the following may occur:
1. Integrity may falter—consenting to improper actions in the ministry.
2. We may make bold claims that we know cannot be wholly substantiated.
3. We may be prone to selective integrity—telling the truth part of the time but not all of the time.
4. We may stoop to repeating what someone else said without checking to see if it is true.
5. We may say some things that are untrue about a person or a situation without saying all that is true.
Yes, everything done in the name of our Lord should reflect the truthfulness that is in keeping with His character. This includes our fundraising communications with potential donors. If we truly trust God for the increase in funding to support our ministry, there will be no room or tolerance for deceptive fundraising practices
Three key words characterize truthfulness in fundraising communication: current, complete, and accurate. Each of these should be understood from the reader’s perspective.
• Current. An appeal for charitable gifts should only contain information that is specifically relevant to the purpose of the appeal. Using pictures, videos, descriptions, narratives, or other information from prior projects or events—which suggests a misleading relationship with the current appeal—is a violation of this standard. The prospective giver will assume that all of the information presented relates to the specific appeal. It is inappropriate to use “old” information in a current appeal simply because it might bring a “better” response from a giver.
When addressing financial information, the appeal should provide information that is as current and timely as possible. The prospective giver should have access to the most current financial information available. The key criteria is whether or not the information provided gives the prospective giver a true understanding of the relevant financial information as of the date of the appeal.
In some situations it may be appropriate to provide information, pictures, or videos on past projects or events because they help to provide context for the current appeal. However, in such cases, the appeal should clearly indicate that such information is not current, that it relates to prior events, and that it is only intended to illustrate the anticipated results of the current appeal. In the absence of such explanatory comments, the appeal should avoid noncurrent material. This requirement includes that explanatory notations be juxtaposed to the item(s) they explain.
• Complete. The appeal should include all of the information necessary for the prospective giver to gain a full and total understanding of the facts related to the appeal. Since the giver will be making judgments from the information included in the appeal, it is the organization’s responsibility to insure that all relevant information is available.
Because space is often limited in an appeal, it may be important to be selective in the information presented. When selecting such information, the organization should ask, “If certain information is omitted from the appeal, will givers be deprived of any essential information?”
When deciding whether the information in the appeal is “complete,” the organization should consider the following:
1) The purpose(s) for which the funds will be used
2) The means by which the program goals will be accomplished
3) The financial need and condition of the organization
• Accurate. All information included in an appeal should be accurate; that is, factual, correct, exact, and precise. The key concern here is that nothing within the appeal (words, pictures, videos, financial data, or other information) misleads the prospective donor into believing something other than the facts as they actually exist. This relates not only to the purpose of the appeal but also to the way in which the funds will actually be used.
Inaccuracies may appear in a number of forms: 1) photographs that do not directly relate to the issue at hand; 2) exaggerations for the sake of persuasion; 3) incomplete information which does not provide a full understanding of the facts; 4) implications which would lead the prospective donor to draw an erroneous conclusion; 5) selective information which presents only the positive while ignoring relevant, negative information, and 6) opinion which is presented as fact. The appeal must avoid any of these inaccuracies.
Before each communication is distributed to prospective donors, ask these three questions:
- “Will all of the text, photographs, videos, or other information included in this appeal lead the prospective donor to a current, complete, and accurate understanding of the facts surrounding the appeal?”
- “Does this appeal communicate all of the information I would want to know if I were a prospective donor deciding whether or not to respond to the appeal?”
- “Does this communication bear witness that we are trusting God to move in the hearts of our supporters, and we are not trying to manipulate their feelings by the way we portray our work or report its outcomes?”
Summary. God is a truth-teller. We must be truth-tellers. And, this includes our communications with prospective donors.
Adapted from ECFA’s Standard 7.1 Truthfulness in Communications and chapter one, Truth-Telling from TRUST: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness by Dan Busby, ECFAPress, 2015.