And That's the Truth

At Sunday school, Whit teaches that dishonesty hurts other people and causes them to lose trust. To demonstrate, he pretends that he has broken his promise to reward the class with ice cream, then reveals that the treat is waiting after all. Tamika feels how quickly a lie can make someone angry, and she solemnly promises to tell the truth no matter how difficult it may be.

Tamika puts her promise into practice immediately, but she confuses honesty with saying every harsh thought that enters her mind. She tells her mother that a new hairstyle looks like a possum, insults Marvin's drumming, and compares another girl's writing to the words on a cereal box. When others object, Tamika defends herself by insisting that she is only telling the truth.

Jack and Joanne face a different problem at J&J Antiques. Their cheerful temporary employee, PJ, is thrilled to inventory the shop, but his work is sloppy. He puts information in the wrong columns, writes illegibly, and visits electronics websites when he is supposed to be researching antiques. Joanne urges Jack to correct him before more work is wasted.

Jack intends to speak honestly, but PJ's enthusiasm makes him afraid of hurting the young man's feelings. When PJ asks how he is doing, Jack merely says that he performs the job as only he could. PJ takes this as praise and eagerly returns to work, never realizing that anything needs to change.

Tamika's bluntness spoils a special evening her mother has carefully planned. She calls the musical boring, complains about the music and her clothes, and rejects dinner at a fancy restaurant. Elaine tries not to blame her daughter, but her hurt is plain as they abandon the rest of their evening and head home.

At the antique shop, Joanne discovers Jack redoing PJ's assignments himself. She points out that PJ cannot improve if no one teaches him how. More troubling still, PJ's time card lists hours he did not work. Jack again promises to address the whole problem, though he has already allowed his desire to seem kind to make matters worse.

When Tamika samples Whit's experimental nut-filled sundae, she delivers a merciless review and even suggests it could win an award for the year's worst flavor. Whit realizes what has happened. He explains that truth should never be used as an excuse to injure someone. Honesty sometimes hurts, but a person can still recognize what another has done well and offer needed correction gently.

Whit points Tamika toward the instruction to speak the truth in love. The lesson does not mean hiding what is true; it means caring about both the words and the person who must hear them. Tamika quickly finds the right balance when she politely but urgently warns Whit that his hot fudge is boiling over.

Jack finally apologizes to PJ for waiting so long and plainly explains the problems with his work. He offers to teach PJ a better cataloging method, but the conversation changes when Jack examines the latest time card. PJ claims to have worked on a night when Jack knows he was absent. One lie follows another: PJ says he needs to feed a poor family and a starving little sister, although he has already said he is an only child. At last he admits that he wanted the extra money for a projection television.

Jack can overlook inexperience and teach better work habits, but he cannot keep an employee who deliberately lies. He fires PJ, who recognizes that his dishonesty has cost him the job he loved.

Tamika returns to her mother and admits that she failed to tell the whole truth about their evening. She may not have enjoyed every activity, but she appreciates how much care Elaine put into planning it and how fortunate she is to have a mother who wants to spend time with her. They agree to try another girls' night, this time at a restaurant Tamika honestly looks forward to visiting.

Jack also practices clearer honesty at a seafood drive-through where the employee repeatedly misunderstands his order. After patiently correcting each mistake and still getting nowhere, he finally chooses the one meal the restaurant seems able to recognize: the strange splayed-urchin combination he received by accident before.