Good morning! I want to share something that has been on my heart over the last week or so. It veers away from our study on the promises of God, but I believe it is important. I feel as though I have been pounded in the head with one word for the last week: transparency. I started studying transparency as I always start a study that I know God is telling me is important. I went to the dictionary and defined the word. The word transparency comes from the root Transparent.
Conduct ourselves in the world
avoids the light afraid deeds will be exposed
Transparent means:
- material that allows light to pass through so objects behind it may be seen.
- having thoughts or feelings that are easily perceived
- open to public scrutiny
After defining the word, I asked the Lord to show my how transparency applies to our walk with Him. Simply put, we are either transparent and allow the world to see exactly what we are and Who we belong to by our actions or we try to hide what we are doing while presenting the world with a different picture of who we are. In other words, don't participate in hypocrisy. In reading the word this morning, the Lord led me through some interesting scriptures.
John 3:20 is a small verse but breaks down in a big way. Jesus said, "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
Most of us do not Practice evil intentionally, but what we do is practice certain behaviors that we choose to keep hidden: anger, wrath, hatred, judgement, porn, arguments, blasphemy, unforgiveness, stealing, lie, sexual immorality, gossip, and the list goes on. We are boastful. We are prideful. And we have made social media our platform for painting the Perfect picture of us and of our familes, our relationships, our children, our ideals, etc. I know I see pictures on Facebook from people that are posting pictures and stories about themselves and their families and presenting such a perfect, Rockefeller image of their family and home life. They are presenting perfect images of their relationships. What we don't see in those photos is the argument that wife had with her husband the night before. We don't see the pain of a parent that posts the best pictures they can find of a child that is now lost in addiction. We don't see the hurt of a young woman whose husband has been unfaithful to her...or the husband whose wife has been unfaithful.
Most of us only post the best. We only share and discuss what we consider to be the best parts of who we are. We try to present the best possible picture to the public we can. Why do we do that? Pride. We think we as Christians should have it all together and be perfect and present this perfect picture to world. But that isn't real, is it? We aren't perfect. We are imperfect. Our fellow Christians expect perfection. The world of unbelievers expect perfection. But yet, that does not line up with the Word of God. In fact, it goes directly against the grain of the Word.
2 Corinthians 1:12 - For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.
Let's break down what this scripture is saying.
- boast in this.
- boast = rejoice in the King James Version. Rejoice in a good or bad sense; glory, or glorifying.
- What should we be boasting, or rejoicing, about? What should we be glorifying?
- in simplicity - in singlenss, not with a double mind...not to be duplicitous. No self-seeking to glory in our own success, efforts. Be generous, be bountiful.
- in sincerity - clearness and purity.
Do you remember the old transparencies from high school? The teachers would write on them and put them on a projector that put, or projected, that image onto the wall of the classroom for easy viewing by students. They would not have worked if they were not a clear piece of material that allowed the light from the projector to pass through it. The students were left seeing only the writing on the transparency, not the sheet of material the writing was on. So, take that analogy and apply it to our walk and growth in Christ. Are we walking in sincerity? In simplicity? Are we boasting in our testimony of what God has done or are we boasting about we have accomplished in and of ourselves?
What are you projecting to the world? Are you transparent so the light of Jesus Christ is easily seen by those who look at you? Are you hiding secrets? Are you trying to project perfection? Going back to John 3:20, let's break it down as we did the verse above.
- practicing evil
- hates the light
- habitual practice of sin as mentioned earlier
- seeks to stay hidden
- revealed; "reproved" in the original KJV (rebuke, convict, tell a fault)
Are you guilty of showing the world only what you want them to see? Are you habitually practicing the things of sin? What does it take to no longer practice sin?
This week, let's focus on being transparent. I know, for me, I have many things that I have at one time or another tried to keep hidden from the world because it would sully my image as a Christian. Well, guess what? I am human. I am not perfect. It has taken me years to get to the place where I can say that. Yes, I mess up. Yes, I am going to be wrong. No, I do not know everything about everything. Yes, my husband and I sometimes will have disagreements. Do we yell and swear at each other? No...we do not. We wrap each other in love so that we are able to see the best in each other and understand our flaws do not change the fact that we love each other.
Tomorrow, we will continue this train of thought and discuss what we can do to become transparent, to no longer hide in the shadows afraid of the light. I mean, God knows it all anyway. He sees every blemish and scar. What do we really think we are hiding, anyway?
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