Someone Else's Blog Entry

Here's a blog entry by Jason Chatraw, a pretty good Vineyard dude, that I found helpful and believe that many others can relate. 

Confessions of a Recovering Hypocrite

Appearances are difficult to keep up. Day after day, wearing a mask becomes a burden too much to bear for even the most determined of hypocrites. I know all this because I was one.

Though I resisted exposure, freedom came when I quit pretending. I wish I could say that I came up with the idea to quit faking it until I made it, but the truth is I got exposed. Despite my best efforts to keep things hidden, my sinful nature consistently removed my mask like a villain masquerading in a horror film. My flaws were openly displayed for my wife. The pretending was over.

Instead of going into denial, I decided to embrace my flaws. That is not to say I ignored them, but being honest about the state of affairs in my heart gave me the freedom to address them in the context of loving relationships.

Brokenness keeps us from experiencing the fullness of life God intended for us to have. And coming to terms with our brokenness through our relationship with Christ is what brings us to wholeness.

Jesus was quite clear about the dangers of allowing sin to fester in our lives, especially to the point where it causes others to stumble:

If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. – Matthew 18:8-9

But do we really live like we believe those words?

Far too often, we allow those broken parts of our lives to envelope the whole. What is good becomes diminished by the darkness in our hearts. Instead of giving permission to the Holy Spirit to extricate these things, we allow them to live beneath the surface, hoping no one will discover them. Slowly but surely, life begins to get drained from us. The life we could experience in the here and now is sucked dry by the sin in our lives that remains. Instead of dealing with it, we foolishly hope it will disappear.

I want to enter into life, that place where everything is in harmony, that place where our relationships with others and our relationship with God all seem to be singing the same tune of openness and transparency. When we experience life in this manner, our brokenness begins to heal. Instead of acting out in anger, we demonstrate compassion and kindness and patience. Instead of tearing others down, we become bastions of encouragement. Instead of acting selfish, we demonstrate the selfless nature of Christ.

Put down your masks and you’ll discover the fullness of what God intended. You’re not perfect—and we all know it. So, why keep pretending?

Act. Identify two areas in your life that you know need to be addressed and ask someone close to you to pray with you about them.

Pray. Father, help me to be more transparent and open in my relationships, unafraid to admit my flaws to others. Use my brokenness to continue the work of wholeness that you desire to do in me.