Standing on the back porch, calling for my dog, Wynona, wondering what area of the neighborhood she is exploring and if she can even hear me call her name. Suddenly, she zips around the corner of the house, with my dad’s dog close on her heels. As she sped into view, I realized she was carrying something orange and large in her mouth. At first, I thought it was a cat, but when she dropped it at my feet, I realized it was a chicken. I don’t have chickens. This is not good.
Wynona is a bird dog, and retrieving birds is what she is trained to do. She very proudly stood next to the chicken and looked at me, as if saying with her eyes, “Look Mom! Look what I brought you! Isn’t it great?!” No. No it’s not great. I examined the traumatized chicken for injuries and discovered two holes from being transported in Wynona’s mouth. The wounds appeared to be superficial, and the chicken looked like it would survive the ordeal. To the neighbor’s house I trouped, carrying the wounded chicken.
Part of me really wanted to set the chicken down at the mouth of their property and let it wander back home on its own. I could even gently toss it over our adjoining fence, back onto their property and they would never know. Telling them that Wynona and dad’s dog, who I had been watching, had not been sufficiently supervised, leading to the injuring of one of their chickens was not going to be a comfortable conversation. They have two little girls who were undoubtedly going to be upset that their pet chicken was hurt.
The neighbors were kind about the ordeal. I showed them the wounds, apologized for not properly supervising the dogs, and offered to replace the chicken if the wounds were more serious than I thought. A few minutes after I walked home, I stepped outside and could hear someone having an emotional breakdown.
At first, I thought maybe some of the neighborhood kids were playing and shouting while they played. As I stood and listened, I realized the shrieks I was hearing weren’t playful, they were cries of distress. I could hear the word “no” being repeated in sequence: “no, no, no, no, no!” And then I heard a question that made my heart sink: “How am I going to tell Nova?!” Nova is one of my neighbor’s little girls. So much distress over one chicken, I felt bad, but goodness that seemed excessive.
A few moments later, the neighbor sent me a message. When they took the injured chicken back to the coop, they discovered four had been killed, another injured, and two were missing altogether. Oh boy. I felt absolutely horrible for them. Again, part of me wished I had just put the chicken back in their yard and kept my mouth shut. But that would not be a biblical response.
I can feel your thoughts… “There’s a biblical response to your dog killing the neighbor’s chickens?! What?” There is a biblical principle that applies: always tell the truth.
“He that speaketh forth truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is for a moment.” Proverbs 12:16-18
Every person faces unpleasant situations. Sometimes they come in the form of confrontation brought to us and we find ourselves wanting to say whatever it takes to appease the confronter and make the discourse end. Sometimes the unpleasant situations come in the form of us needing to share uncomfortable information and we find ourselves wanting to withhold information to minimize the discomfort. Sometimes we need to enforce a boundary with someone and want to avoid upsetting the other party. Every time, we should choose to tell the truth.
The Lord provides many verses in the Bible expressing His view of truthful communication and untruthful communication. Choosing to stay quiet when we should speak up; choosing to omit uncomfortable information; and telling little white untruths are all examples of lying. The Bible is clear that the Lord detests lying.
“Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.” Proverbs 12: 22
The other person may not be happy with what they are hearing, but they can have confidence that we are being truthful.
To bring the chicken massacre to a conclusion: through the difficult conversation that followed the discovery that several chickens had been killed I learned a few things that made me very glad I had chosen to be truthful when it was uncomfortable. First, I learned that the issue was bigger than I realized, providing me a sense of priority to rectify my supervision of the dogs immediately. Second, I learned that the next day was little Nova’s birthday. Third, I learned that they were in the house for the night and would not have gone back out that evening. These pieces put together mean that by being truthful that evening, they were able to make the unpleasant discovery that evening, after their little girls had gone to sleep. Had the discovery not been made that evening, it would have been made the next morning and quite possibly by the little girls. What a horrible birthday Nova would have had if she had been the one to find her pet chickens the next morning. The situation was uncomfortable and unpleasant and would have been compounded had I been silent.
Additionally, being truthful with my neighbors did not negatively impact our relationship as one might expect. Instead of being met with anger, being truthful served to build on the relationship already established. After more facts were discovered, I do not believe my dog was responsible for the massacre. I believe she was responsible for fetching an injured bird, as she is trained to do. However, I am replacing the lost chickens because my relationship and testimony with my neighbor is more important than my pride and more important than my dislike of uncomfortable conversations. In short, biblically, it is the right thing to do.
Transparent truthfulness is the best response to every situation. Today, let’s choose to be truthful when it’s uncomfortable. Let’s choose to love the Lord more than our comfort. The Lord delights in those who respond truthfully.
