God places us in precise situations in this life, and he expects us to interact with those around us, helping them see what we do, and learning from them when they see more or better than we do. You have the opportunity to provide unique value to those God has placed around you in life. Many of these people do not see, believe, or value what you do, and at least some will not have access to the information you possess unless you share it with them.
One lie that makes it harder to say what you really think and do what you really believe is the belief that people are essentially interchangeable, and therefore there is no unique benefit provided in living up to the best you know. The truth is that not all people see or value the same things, and everyone differs in how much they are willing to reconcile to and share what they see, believe, and value.1 Our differential capacity to understand value, see potential, and affect change makes every individual’s contribution important. Our many differences include:
- The unique experiences we’ve had.
- The degree of truth we perceive and the accuracy with which we perceive it.
- How much opposition we tolerate in our willingness to live the truth ourselves.
- How much opposition we tolerate in our willingness to tell the truth to others.
Because of the diversity of subjective experience, each person serves as an information source for everyone else. Each person sees a different degree of truth, and at a different accuracy. It is immensely important that each person tell the truth as they see it.2
Even if those around you have access to others who would say the same thing in the same way you could, why would they? Just because a person in your life has access to others who see, believe, or value what you do doesn’t mean that those other people will have the courage to share.