A
swirl of particulates dances before my eyes as I drive Amy to work in the
morning. “Open the window please,” I say
thinking she should remember by now, or better yet, wake up early enough to put
her make-up on in the house instead of the car.
I glance over at her face and think to myself, ‘Why does she
bother? To the rest of us her skin is
flawless with an attractive tone and colour.
If I had her beauty, I’d never use make-up!’ (Okay, so I don’t anyway! :D )
By
the time she’s done, her face doesn’t look real anymore- at least up
close. Such a shame since she looks
naturally beautiful without it! Many
people would like to look as good as her, me being one of them… but alas, I
have a unique beauty all my own! Anyway,
there is much the same thing going on in the church today and I think it is
such a shame.
Instead of showing our genuine faces, we put on masks where ever we
go. Probably the most prominent face is
the “I’m good, my life is all good” face because we don’t want anyone to see
how much we struggle--- far more spiritual to act like we have it all together,
right? “How you doing?” “Fine.
Good. Great. Blessed…”
Sure, sometimes the reason we answer this way is because we think there
is no time to get into a big discussion, but is it honest? Are we not called to be honest and genuine?
Lying lips are hateful to Jehovah… Pr. 12:22
Do not lie to one
another, having put off the old man with his deeds Cl. 3:9
Pray for us; for we
trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. Hb.
13:18
for we aim at what
is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. 2Cr. 8:21 ESV
And just what do our dishonest words do?
It makes others feel bad about their own lives/ journeys as if they are
the only ones struggling, it leaves us alone in our struggles unable to share,
and we open ourselves up to the enemy, because lying is hated by God and
therefore part of the domain of the Devil.
It also goes against God’s Word in bearing one another’s burdens to
fulfill Christ’s law (Gl. 6:2). Which
law? The one where we are supposed to love one another.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this all
shall know that you are My disciples, if you have love toward one another. Jh.
13:34,35
I remember
once when a friend walked by she asked “How are you?” and I wasn’t quite sure
she really wanted to know but it had been a BAD couple of weeks so I said,
“crappy actually” and she replied, “Oh, I guess we’re being honest.” Shouldn’t we always? We shouldn’t have to put on fake faces just
because we are Christians. In fact, I
believe it should make us more genuine about our lives and when we are more
genuine, then our true beauty shows up as we learn to rely more and more on God
our Father.
And being honest about our struggles and messed up lives
keeps us humble too, and God likes humility.
(2Ch. 7:14; Mt. 23:12; Php. 2:3; Jm. 4:6; 1Pt. 5:6)
Here I am Lord, ‘warts and all’ asking that You help me be
honest with all my struggles… help us all to love each other with pure hearts
and genuine compassion, honestly, just like You!