"Hi, how are you?"
"Good!"
Really? It used to really bother me how we often say that we are doing good when we're not. I've done it myself. And even as the words are escaping my lips, I find myself questioning if the person asking really wants to know...the not so good part. In many cases...probably not. They are just being friendly and using the greeting that everybody seems to use these days. Many times we keep our burdens to ourselves, but I think most of us have certain people that we are more willing to be open with. It's probably true that there is something in each of our lives currently, that we do not consider "good". Should we all just share those things in the name of transparency? Or instead perhaps, if we are having a bad morning, we are allowing God to work in our hearts and learning to rest in his sovereign will? Couldn't this be good reason for keeping silent?
Many people in the church are wishing that others would be more transparent, more willing to talk about their problems. They desire to see more of a blunt honesty from people. I too, have found myself desiring these things. But lately as I have thought more about it, there are some things I am considering.
The first is how prone we are to think that we are the only ones who have a godly desire for something. Or that we are the only ones who seem to want to live godly in a particular way. For example, we think "wow does anyone else actually spend time studying God's Word?" We begin to wonder because people aren't talking about it, at least not as much as we would like. We begin to deceive ourselves when we think that we are the only ones delighting in it's truths.
What about service? Sometimes we think about how much we are serving and when we look around it seems like others are doing far less. Really? Do we really know what all of their involvements and responsibilities are? What if someone doesn't show up for an activity? Do you question their level of spirituality? Perhaps the decision not to attend was a wise one in their particular situation.
My point is that we often say "People are not doing enough _______." You fill in the blank. I admit, I have said this myself. And granted, sometimes it is valid. But do we really know what everyone in the church is doing in their personal time? Sometimes people are not as vocal as we would like about what they are doing for Christ. Have you considered that maybe there are reasons for that? Like a hatred for pride and the desire to be careful not to toot their own horn. Who wants to sound like they're bragging about ministry? I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about it, or ask for prayer concerning it, I'm just saying this could be a very legitimate reason why we don't hear so much being said about personal ministry. My point is, just because we are not personally hearing about it, does not mean it is not happening.
When it comes to being transparent, isn't it possible that the people we think are not very transparent are just not that way with us personally? I used to think "People need to be more transparent. Let's not act like we have it all together. Let's be real." Ok, great. But can you really do this with everyone? Isn't there a level of privacy when it comes to very personal matters? Should we just unload on whoever might be standing by? I think we need to be more careful than that. It's good to have people you can confide in and people you can trust. Especially people that you consider to be spiritually mature, for they may actually be able to help you to think in a godly way about your problems.
Let's not assume that just because many people are not being transparent with us that they are not sharing their struggles with people that they trust and feel more comfortable with. What does it really accomplish when someone we hardly know shares their struggle or even a sin issue? Do we really desire to point them to God's Word for help? Or does it help to validate our own struggles and sins? Does is make us feel a little better about our sin because someone else is struggling too? We think "I'm so glad I'm not the only one!" And really, that may be the problem. We should already know that we are not the only one, because the Bible teaches it. Do we really need people talking about their sin openly to realize that no one really has it "all together" all the time? Let's just take that as a given and stop looking around and comparing ourselves to others who never seem to fail at anything. They are struggling just like we are, albeit in different ways.
It's interesting how when it comes to service for Christ we tend to question "Am I the only one doing this?" And when it comes to the struggle with sin we tend to question "Am I the only one doing this?" The answer to both is a resounding "No." We are not the only ones. Let's just take it as fact.
Are we taking our burdens to the Lord before we bring them to other people? Being utterly honest with him first?
Just some thoughts, perhaps you've thought about this too?
Many people in the church are wishing that others would be more transparent, more willing to talk about their problems. They desire to see more of a blunt honesty from people. I too, have found myself desiring these things. But lately as I have thought more about it, there are some things I am considering.
The first is how prone we are to think that we are the only ones who have a godly desire for something. Or that we are the only ones who seem to want to live godly in a particular way. For example, we think "wow does anyone else actually spend time studying God's Word?" We begin to wonder because people aren't talking about it, at least not as much as we would like. We begin to deceive ourselves when we think that we are the only ones delighting in it's truths.
What about service? Sometimes we think about how much we are serving and when we look around it seems like others are doing far less. Really? Do we really know what all of their involvements and responsibilities are? What if someone doesn't show up for an activity? Do you question their level of spirituality? Perhaps the decision not to attend was a wise one in their particular situation.
My point is that we often say "People are not doing enough _______." You fill in the blank. I admit, I have said this myself. And granted, sometimes it is valid. But do we really know what everyone in the church is doing in their personal time? Sometimes people are not as vocal as we would like about what they are doing for Christ. Have you considered that maybe there are reasons for that? Like a hatred for pride and the desire to be careful not to toot their own horn. Who wants to sound like they're bragging about ministry? I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about it, or ask for prayer concerning it, I'm just saying this could be a very legitimate reason why we don't hear so much being said about personal ministry. My point is, just because we are not personally hearing about it, does not mean it is not happening.
Let's not assume that just because many people are not being transparent with us that they are not sharing their struggles with people that they trust and feel more comfortable with. What does it really accomplish when someone we hardly know shares their struggle or even a sin issue? Do we really desire to point them to God's Word for help? Or does it help to validate our own struggles and sins? Does is make us feel a little better about our sin because someone else is struggling too? We think "I'm so glad I'm not the only one!" And really, that may be the problem. We should already know that we are not the only one, because the Bible teaches it. Do we really need people talking about their sin openly to realize that no one really has it "all together" all the time? Let's just take that as a given and stop looking around and comparing ourselves to others who never seem to fail at anything. They are struggling just like we are, albeit in different ways.
It's interesting how when it comes to service for Christ we tend to question "Am I the only one doing this?" And when it comes to the struggle with sin we tend to question "Am I the only one doing this?" The answer to both is a resounding "No." We are not the only ones. Let's just take it as fact.
Are we taking our burdens to the Lord before we bring them to other people? Being utterly honest with him first?
Just some thoughts, perhaps you've thought about this too?
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