I have decided that being fake pretty much sucks. I am what I am and that’s all there is to it. (Cue Popeye laugh) But you see I have this reputation to uphold. I have to 'appear' to be this pristine perfect 'thing' that never gets into trouble, never sins, never doubts, never utters a 'cuss' word, never 'drinks' and never gets jealous or depressed. So this is me, and if sanctification (more Love) is going to have a chance, if the Holy Spirit is going get to work in my spirit then I need to get real.
Here's the thing. I don't boast about my faults or what some would consider to be faults. I don’t judge others if they disagree about some of these gray areas and don’t do them, I am just not going to pretend that I am a Spirit guru when I am not. I strive for Holiness, but Holiness isn't wielding a pocket/palm bible verse…thingy, clocking in a zillion hours of prayer, listening to ONLY Christian music, or never cussing or drinking a beverage with .6 % alcohol. Holiness comes when the Love of God flows so freely though you that the person receiving it IS seeing and hearing God. And it is only when you are honest with yourself and others about yourself that God can really work. How is anyone supposed to know how thankful you are for what the Lord has done when you don’t really have anything to be thankful for because you are sooooo perfect? God will not shine through a veil of lies, no matter how many scriptures you can recite, how many Smitty songs you know, or how starched your suit is. He knew you in the womb and saw you when you came out- naked, bloody and slimy. No sense in pulling fast ones on the Big Man. There is no garden big enough for you to hide. And if He decides to shine through them you might find his light illuminating something you wanted to keep hidden.
8 comments:
Great points. I liked the last paragraph, especially the "naked, bloody, and slimy" part. If we always thought of ourselves in that way, it would be hard to be too self-righteous!
Another good one, Seth.
In my life personally, the transparency and accountability that you are advocating is helped tremendously by having a close-knit community of believers with whom I spend a lot of my time.
We feel the freedom to be completely genuine, to admit our sins and failures, to help and encourage one another -- without feeling that we are crossing some sort of line by being too nosy or involved. Yes, it's very dirty and messy, but the payoff has been solid gold.
I was raised and spent many years in a church culture where it was perfectly acceptable to always show up with only your best face on. You could be there Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and even make appearances at special events -- but importantly, you didn't have to really and truly let anyone in and admit what you were really thinking. It mostly involved smiling on cue and saying the nice, correct, and polite things when asked.
If you started sharing your true feelings, or admitting you had problems, or asking for help, you were whisked away from the main group into a place where you could get the "special help" you needed. While this was well-intentioned, it had the effect of keeping real needs isolated. People didn't get to see that everyone else there was made of the same stuff inside.
I like that people are having these discussions now, about a real and living relationship with the Lord, and how the way we relate to one another as believers should be an accurate and authentic reflection of that relationship.
Here here! That was great man. Keep it coming. For me that was a devotional, and a wonderful distraction while I'm presently sitting in PSC class at BU. Thanks.
yeah I agree. And if your perfect all the time, you can't relate to anyone around you, because no one else is perfect either, and if they appear to be, it's an act, their flaws are well hidden.
preach it!!!
Thanks for the reminder. And ouch about that last sentence!
amen.
We all know these things about ourselves, and we suspect them about others as well. Somehow life is easier to tolerate when we aren't forced to be quite so transparent all the time. Society functions better when we're polite and keep our messiness to ourselves.
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