The truth shall set you free... and sometimes hurt also.

When and where does truth take a back seat to compassion and love... or does it? 

It depends on the nature of the truth that needs to be seen or shared. In fact, sharing the truth in a very direct and clear way may be the best way to love someone, even if painful at the time. 

If you saw a blind and deaf person accidentally wander onto a train track and an oncoming train was bearing down on them, with only seconds to spare, would you handle them with kid gloves and gently try to persuade them to get off the track or would you rush up to them and forcefully remove i.e. tackle them if necessary, to get them out of harm's way? If you only have a split second to get them to safety, you would remove them as quickly and forcefully as necessary, maybe even breaking a rib or two or both of you getting bruised and scraped up in the process. Better alive with a broken rib or bruised side than dead.

Would the blind person be upset? At first? No doubt. They have no clue what just happened. At best, they likely will be wondering who you are, or why you tackled them. All they know is someone just knocked the stuffing out of them, injuring them in the process. More than likely, they are thinking it's time for a lawsuit. Once it is explained to them what just happened and why you did what you did by a trusted family member who saw and confirmed the whole thing, I venture to say they would be grateful for the pain you inflicted on them (not the pain itself but the outcome which involved pain to achieve) and would probably give you a hug once they understood you just saved their life. The pain you caused was ultimately their gain.

So it often is with truth. It can be very disruptive and painful, but in the end, it saves us and sets us free.

It can be the most loving, but also the hardest thing we can encounter at the same time.