Transparency

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13)

I’m still thinking about yesterday’s writing and how I shared a little more about my past sins and how being transparent is so important. I have been struggling lately with peoples hidden agendas, dishonesty, insincerity, trust in general. A real eye-opener for me has been, if someone will lie to you, they will lie about you. As I stated several times now, I am doing my best in being transparent in sharing my life do’s and don’ts with y’all, so in saying all of this I admit I have been guilty of what I am sharing about today. I decided it would be good to look up the topic of transparency in my Bible and see just what it has to say about it. I never want to fall into that trap again and prayerfully this will help you from falling into it as well.

We find that NOTHING is hidden from God as in the scripture above. Honesty is necessary for a restored relationship and cleansing with Him. We are encouraged to invite God to search our hearts, as in Ps. 139:23-24. So my first bit of advice is if you have been dishonest with anyone, now is the time to come clean, cleanse yourself from all unrighteousness. I know that might be scary, because some things we would like to pretend never happened or were never said and we feel shame. If you can’t do that right now then take it to God first, remember He already knows. Repent, ask Him to help you reveal the truth, He will I promise, remember I’m being transparent which also means I have been in this place before. In Ephesians 4:2: put away falsehood and speak truthfully to each other. James 5:16: encourages confessing sins to one another and praying for each other to bring about healing. So it’s more than just confession, through prayer and support from the one you bring it to, you can be healed of the hurt or the wrong doing. On a side note; can I just say, “making excuses for what you did or said or trying to justify the why, is NOT true confession”.

Transparency means walking in the light and not having secret, sinful lives (Eph. 5:8-13). Godly sincerity or walking in truth (2 cor. 1:12). This life can be hard enough at times without having the sin of lies to carry around to. For me personally, I know I am not perfect and I am transparent in letting that be known, but at the same time I carry baggage of sorts around with me that are extremely heavy and I have to drop to my feet time and time again at let Jesus have it, He is the One equipped to carry my sins, not me. Once left at the feet of Jesus I am FREE, free from whatever was hidden, oppression, guilt and shame. Don’t let the weight of these things keep you from living a life of freedom.

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us ….”

What are you waiting for? There is Freedom and Power in being transparent.