Matthew West – Truth Be Told

American songwriter and artist Matthew West began his career in 1997.  He released twelve albums and one EP, including:

• September Sun (1997)
• Every Step of the Way (1998)
  
• Happy (2003)
• History (2005)
• Sellout (2006)
• Something to Say (2008)
• The Story of Your Life (2010)
• The Heart of Christmas (2011)
• Into the Light (2012)
• Live Forever (2015)
• All In (2017)
• Brand New (2020)
• Walking Miracles (EP, 2020)

West won three GMA Dove awards, including Recorded Music Packaging of the Year (Happy, 2005) Special Event Album of the Year (Music Inspired by The Story, 2012 [as a contributor]), and Songwriter of the Year (2018).

Also, check out my reviews of Hello, My Name Is, and Day One.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Matthew-west-truth-be-told-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

West lists two lies that we tell ourselves, namely, that everything is fine and everyone except for me is perfect.  These pervasive thoughts contribute to buried truths hidden within, unable to be shared with others.  Yet, God knows our deepest secrets and loves us anyway.  While the church is meant to be a “hospital for sinners” and not a “country club for saints”, West questions why we’ve flipped it.  I’ve offered some reasons why I think this occurs in my commentary to Verse 2.

I have two rejoinders.  First, West states, “I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it”.  There are many reasons why it’s hard for us to admit (I’ve listed them in section 2); However, pride is something West should probably be aware of.

Second, he also states, “When being honest is the only way to fix it”.  I applaud people for being honest about failures, but admission cannot fix it by itself.  It must be accompanied by action.

Score: 7/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

While much of this song aligns with God’s inspired Word, there may be other reasons why some people don’t confess wrongdoing.  Also, it’s incorrect to state that confession will address our issues.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-3: The Free Dictionary defines this phrase as “To be well-prepared and organized for something, especially mentally”.  As we will find out in Chorus, this lie applies to people who claim to be fine when they aren’t.

Lines 4-6: This is another lie that many people tell themselves.  Some of us see picture-perfect families and assume that nothing amiss happens.  Yet, the Scriptures say that we’re deceitful above all other things (Jeremiah 17:9), that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:8-10), and none of us are good (Psalm 14:2-3, Psalm 53:2-3, and Romans 3:10).

[Pre-Chorus (1)]

Line 1: Given my commentary in Verse 1, lines 4-6, alongside Verse 2, it’s easy to see why the truths about Verse 1 are rarely told.

[Chorus]

Lines 1-4: The word “I” here refers to others who speak this way, though this might also include West if he does this.  We keep lying to ourselves about our shortcomings (see commentary on Verse 1).

Bridge contextualizes the “you” stated in line 4 as God, who knows all the sins we’ve committed.  This is so because God is omniscient (1 Kings 8:39, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:21, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 40:28, Matthew 10:30, John 16:30, John 21:17, Acts 1:24, Hebrews 4:13, and 1 John 3:20).

Line 5: There are some reasons why some people don’t admit fault, including pride (Psalm 10:4), narcissistic tendencies (2 Timothy 3:2-8), telling themselves the lies in Verse 1 so often that they believe it (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12), and genuine beliefs that what they are doing isn’t wrong (Judges 17:6).  Others might have a mental illness, are socially stigmatized, or grew up in an abusive household.

Line 6: Being honest about shortcomings is noble, but it won’t fix it.  Yes, opening up is a great first step towards the road to recovery, but admitting guilt won’t repair our problems.  We must obey God (Matthew 25:34-40, John 14:15, John 14:21-24, John 15:10-14, 1 Peter 1:14-15, 1 John 2:3-5, 1 John 4:19-20, 1 John 5:2-3, and 2 John 1:6).

Lines 7 and 8: See commentary on line 4.

Line 9: West encourages us to be honest about our shortcomings.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-7: Keeping secrets hidden is understandable.  Many people in the world (including some Christians, unfortunately) are judgmental, seeing people as a project to fix or too terrible for redemption.  This makes it easier for others to wear a mask than open up and subject themselves to humiliation.  We Christians can do a better job of listening to others without judgment.  Yes, I understand that rebuke and correction are reasons why Scripture exists (2 Timothy 3:16); However, we often speak the truth with contempt and not with love, violating Ephesians 4:15.  This prevents some people from coming to church and being open about their failings.

[Pre-Chorus (2)]

Line 1: Repeats Pre-Chorus (1), line 1.

Line 2: West’s sarcasm with an obvious answer.  No, he isn’t the only one.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: Perhaps West cannot, but others believe they can.  West is correct though: “unconditional love” describes God’s love for us regardless of how we behave. He loves us in that He died for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:6-8). Nothing will separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). He is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). Of course, He also allows us to experience eternal separation from Him if that’s what we want (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10).

Lines 3 and 4: The conclusion follows from its premise that we believe the things stated in lines 1 and 2.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers should easily interpret this as Christian, given his mention of God and the church, and the oft-used phrase, “come as you are”.  They will agree with West’s assessment on lies, that the church is often not a “safe space”to talking about struggles, and that we should tell the truth.  They will also probably agree with me, that there are many reasons people don’t open up and that his solution is untenable.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that West points out a few common lies that we believe about ourselves, he is incorrect on how to solve it.

Score: 7/10

Closing Comments

Matthew West’s Truth Be Told is a valiant effort to address lies that prevent honesty. He correctly identifies two lies we tell ourselves, God’s foreknowledge, and His love for us. However, West admits he doesn’t know why people don’t confess their dark secrets, seemingly unaware that pride and Christian judgment (among other reasons) are major contributors. While his solution to confess wrongdoing is a great first step towards recovery, it won’t fix our problems. Unbelievers should arrive at a similar conclusion.

I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 7/10

Artist Info

Track: Truth Be Told (listen to the song)

Artist: Matthew West

Album: Brand New

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2020

Duration: 3:46

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

10/27/2021 – Softened my commentary toward Matthew West and added more examples.  Thank you Neal Cruco for your comment!