Trans-pparently

I never have a problem admitting when I am wrong. It helps that I rarely believe I am wrong. Recently, I felt like I was wronged by a vendor, and I knew - I just knew - the facts would prove me right. So, I did whatever a seemingly wronged, self-righteous person would do: I demanded “transparency!” The vendor told me that they had no obligation to share the information I was requesting and challenged how airtight I thought my case was. Regardless, I pressed on until the agent was so exasperated she gave me the information I was looking for and much more. Sure enough, the one or two truths I was seeking were there, but so was other information that made it doubtful that even the jury in my mind’s imaginary courtroom would decide in my favor.

As I hung up the phone after backpedaling clumsily out of my bold claims, I couldn’t help but think of the times when I have been on the other side of someone demanding greater “transparency” from me. I can think of more than a few times when I’ve responded to someone’s desire for additional information, only to be told that I was hiding something in my reply because it didn’t prove their narrative. In life, leadership, and even discipleship, am I seeking the truth, or am I seeking the data points that might support my desires, preferences, or agendas? If I am demanding information, will I receive it with a willingness to consider “the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” or will I choose to discard the parts that are accurate but not apparent to me?

Whether it be the claims of a vendor, the words of a friend, the action of a leader, or the teachings of the Church, may we claim our right to information along with the responsibility to receive it and steward it as people of integrity.