“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” – Romans 7:24
The phone rings, but goes to voicemail before I have a chance to pick it up. A couple of minutes later, I retrieve the message and get assaulted by the following words: “PLEASE CALL ME BACK! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!!” I dial the number. A lady answers. She’s yelling. She’s sobbing. Anger fills her voice. Hysterical best describes this scene. After several minutes passed she calmed down, and we started making progress toward me figuring out the problem. She breathes deeply and then informs me that she had just found out that her 17 year-old daughter had undergone her 2nd abortion. Mom was emotionally volatile, the daughter was scared into a state of silence and I had never received a phone call like this before and didn’t know exactly what to do. So I said a quick prayer asking the Lord for wisdom & guidance. The next statement out of my mouth shocked even me, but I know it was directly from the heart of God. I asked the mother, “Have you ever have an abortion?” Dead silence...
Why does living transparently bother us so much? Obviously, discretion should guide with whom and how much we share with others. And no, this is not an endorsement for exalting your previous sins. But let’s get real: if you’re in Christ, you are emphatically an ex-______________ (you fill in the blank). Until Christ returns or we’re called home, we’ll continue to work through various temptations & tests, but we need to be reminded that we’re not who we used to be! When we forget who we are in Christ, our actions tend to contradict what we know to be true. Why? (Don’t hurry past the next sentence . . .)
It’s because we’re afraid of what others will think of us. Re-read that previous sentence and let’s get introspective for a moment by answering the $20 million dollar question: “What’s the real impetus for being so concerned with what others will think?” It’s pride. I don’t think it’s coincidental that the letter “I” is at the very center of the word either. Pride alienates man from God by motivating us to hide behind these flimsy masks of religious pretense or vocational success or God-given beauty or abilities, all in an attempt to appear as if we have it all together. The crazy thing is none of us have it all together! And everyone knows it!
Transparency risks vulnerability, and the idea of complete vulnerability can feel like a dangerous way to live. But how else will others get to see Christ through the story of our lives? For someone, your story communicated from your heart and through your mouth represents the master key needed to unlock them from their own self-imposed prisons. The mother who called me could’ve bonded with her daughter in a completely different way had she chosen to live transparently before her child. Until we’re willing to share our shortcomings as well as our successes, others who are struggling may very well wonder, "What's wrong with me that I can't overcome my problems too?"
Honesty with self, with others and with God leads to wholeness. But before you can tackle that, you’ve got to have an honest confrontation with Truth. Transparency is yours when you make the conscious decision to get off the surface & get deeper with Christ! Living transparently isn’t a struggle when you’ve learned how to walk in the forgiveness that comes from knowing Christ intimately.
How can your past failures be used in someone else's life to bring God glory? Who is it that needs to know you haven't always got it right?
“The sins we tend to commit repeatedly are the ones we confess to God, but not to each other.” – Selah