Speaking the Truth
by Karen Weaver
Papua New Guinea
Bible reading, speaking the truth, showing forgiveness, and other basic elements of Christian discipleship are all part of a two-week course called “SALT”. The name stands for “Scripture Application and Leadership Training.”
When the Sursurunga people attended this course in May 2011, the New Testament had only been available in their language for 10 months. Now they were learning how to dig into the Sursurunga Scripture and apply it to their lives. God's Word spoke to them in many areas of their lives, and one in particular was the way they relate to their children.
Sursurunga people grow up with the belief that if they allow their young children to cry, evil spirits will come to take the child's spirit, and the child will become sick and die. In order to keep their children from crying, parents start lying to their children from the day they are born. One example of this can be seen in the interactions between Tala and his mother. “Tala, we need to go.” Little Tala refuses and cries so his mother says, “There’s a truck waiting on the road. Do you want to go for a ride?” There is no truck, but Tala stops crying and goes with his mother. Both missions are accomplished – Tala obeys his mother and stops crying. The evil spirits have been thwarted and Tala will not get sick and die.
Because of this belief, lying has become an integral part of their culture. However, when Sursurunga parents learned in the SALT course that lying is a sin against God, they were convicted to change the way they relate to their children.
After the first lesson, one grandfather went home, called his family together, and confessed to them his sin of lying to his kids when they were small, saying that the moon would eat them if they cried. One of his daughters had started telling her kids the same lie. He picked up his 9 month old grandchild, told her he was sorry, and asked her forgiveness. He asked his whole family to do the same thing, and he prayed, asking God to cut this sin from his family.
Another man said, “The talk about truth really pierced my liver, causing me to feel sorrow and begin new behavior. I am committed to speak the truth to my new grandchild.”
A woman who has been a believer and teacher for many years confessed, “I must always speak the truth. I have been manipulating my grandchildren with lies. I need to focus on speaking the truth in every situation.”
Praise God that He is using the Sursurunga Scriptures to bear fruit and change lives. Pray for the people who participated in this SALT course that they would stand firm in their convictions and continue to apply the lessons they learned.
III John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
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說實話
讀聖經，說真理，好饒恕，及其他基督教門訓的基本要素，這些都是為期兩周的“SALT”（鹽）課程的內容。SALT是英文Scripture Application and Leadership Training的縮寫，意思是「聖經應用和領袖訓練」。
當蘇爾蘇龍加人（Sursurunga）在2011年5月參加這個課程時，他們的母語新約聖經才面世十個月。現在，他們正在學習如何深入了解聖經，並將其應用在他們生活當中。神透過聖經在他們生活中的許多方面向他們說話，其中特別是如何與子女相處。
蘇爾蘇龍加人一直存在一個信念，就是如果讓他們年幼的孩子哭，邪靈就會把孩子的靈魂帶走，然後孩子會生病，繼而死亡。為了避免孩子哭，父母會從孩子出生那一天開始向他們說謊。塔拉和他母親之間的對話可看出這樣一個例子。 「塔拉，我們要走了。」小塔拉拒絕並哭了。然後他母親說：「有車在路上等著，你想要去兜風嗎？」其實並沒有車，但塔拉停止哭泣，並跟他母親走了。兩個目的都達到了 —— 塔拉服從他母親和停止哭泣。邪靈被擊退，塔拉不會生病和死亡。
因為這個信念，說謊已經成為他們文化中不可或缺的一部分。然而，當蘇爾蘇龍加人在SALT課程中了解到說謊是得罪神，他們認識到自己所犯的過失並改變跟子女相處的方式。
上了第一課後，一個爺爺回家，聚集他的家人，向他們承認自己的罪。孩子年幼時，他曾經對他們說，如果他們哭，月亮便會把他們吃掉。他其中一個女兒因此也開始告訴她的孩子同樣的謊言。他抱起九個月大的孫子，告訴她，他很抱歉，並求她原諒。他要求全部家人做同樣的事情，然後他祈禱，祈求神拿走他家人的這個罪。
另一個男子說：「關於說實話的講道簡直刺透我的心，使我感到悲痛，提醒我要有新的行為表現。我決心要向我的孫子說實話。」
一位信主多年的女教師承認：「我要永遠說實話。我一直在用謊言去操控我的孫子。我必須在任何情況下，把焦點放在講實話上。」
讚美神，祂使用蘇爾蘇龍加語聖經去結果子和改變生命。祈求參與這個SALT課程的人，在自己的信仰上堅定不移，並繼續實踐他們在課程裡所學到的教訓。
約翰叁書1章4節說：「我聽見我的兒女們按真理而行，我的喜樂就沒有比這個大的。」
譯者： Jovy Lam
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