Transparency…it gets me in trouble. Being real is very intimidating to others who are not. It opens me up for criticism and ridicule. They often attack and often I get hurt. But, in spite of that, I don’t wear a mask. I won’t wear a mask. I don’t put on a facade. I am genuine. You get what you get. This is something I actually like about me. (It doesn’t always win me a lot of friends but the ones I do get are just as real as I am).
It is biblical to be transparent but it involves risk. Transparency allows people to see your imperfections, your flaws, your vulnerabilities and more. It’s like telling a prankster you are afraid of spiders. You know what will happen! But if you tell him they don’t bother you, it is likely he won’t try to play that kind of a sick joke on you. However, there is a good chance a spider may appear and the truth will surface.
On the flip side, allowing others to see your weaknesses gives them an opportunity to reach out and help you to be stronger. Friends may be few, but they will be real. Nobody has ever been more transparent than Jesus Christ. He is the example we have to follow. His transparency brought about so much suffering at the hands of men and so much glory in the presence of God. When all was said and done, His disciples (friends) laid down their very lives for Him
I have discovered that no matter how much I try to hide the truth or to pretend to be something I’m not, the real me eventually surfaces. There is no stopping it. I can either embrace who I am and be real, knowing it may bring about rejection by some. Or, I can be fake and try to impress people to win a popularity contest and have a bunch of friends who are as fake as I am. Problem is, eventually, the truth will surface and fake friends turn away. Disappointment is inevitable.
I cannot be effective reaching out to others if I am not real in how I present myself. I need not fear rejection or judgement (but sadly, I do) because those who judge or reject me for being genuine have a bigger problem than I do! I need to fear God alone. In doing so, I can’t be anything but real.
To love God is to obey Him. He calls us to be transparent but so few of us really are. I challenge you to go before Him and ask for the courage to be real, open, and honest about you, your life, and your struggles. There is no more effective way in which to help another tear down some nasty walls and be set free from their own prison. Be transparent.
Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
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