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Honest to God #2

I grew up with two guys named Eugene in my world. One was a bad boy. The other was one of the biggest liars I’ve ever known. He’d lie about everything: where he’s been, what he’s done, even things he didn’t need to lie about! After a while he didn’t know what was the truth or a lie.

We may not all lie as chronically as Eugene, but we think that if we fudge the truth a little then things will be better for us.

You have one role in life and that is to be yourself.

You are not perfect. You never will be, but you can be honest. You can love the truth. You can want to know the truth. You can want to tell the truth.

“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”   - John 1:17

We have to have both. Truth without grace turns into legalism – there’s no room to own up in that kind of culture. Grace without truth becomes licentiousness - a dodgy culture of shadows.

If we’ll confess, tell the truth, be honest, and be transparent - we’ll find compassion, forgiveness, cleansing, healing, and prosperity.

Proverbs 28:13,  James 5:16,  1John 1:9

If we conceal and cover, lies will grow in darkness, issues will grow under concealment.

It’s more about honesty and transparency than the “confessing.”

1John 1:5-10

Honesty builds relationships. Lies and deception destroy relationships. The quickest way to destroy a relationship is to lie or be deceptive.

If we think we are perfect, we are deceiving ourselves.

Adam & Eve were lured into eating the forbidden fruit. They reacted by trying to hide their sin. They went into conceal mode.

Genesis 3:8-13

“Adam, where are you?”

He’s not trying to physically locate them. God doesn’t ask questions because He needs an answer. He’s trying to get us to see something. God is not surprised at your issue. He knows all about it.

Deception affects our relationship with God.  It seems like every time we pray, our issue is all that God wants to talk about. So what do we start to do?  We start avoiding prayer!  We start passing blame.  “The woman gave it to me.” “The devil made me do it.”  Honesty faces its own issues.

I wonder what would’ve happened if they had confessed instead of trying to conceal.

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  Selah.  I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'; And You did forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah.”'"  - Psalm 32:1-5

The Message - Psalm 32:5   "Then I let it all out; I said, 'I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to GOD.”'Suddenly the pressure was gone - my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.'"

Some of us have big obvious areas hidden in darkness.  Some of us are just avoiding truth. 

The Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now about something. I don’t have to list all of the possible things you could be hiding. 

Become honest, walk in the light, live out in the open, and you will find the pressure will suddenly be gone.