Being Honest

Proverbs 28:18 - Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.

I had someone tell me a flat-out lie this week. Who it was isn't important, I'm not vaguebooking or anything else, it wasn't a friend, it wasn't a family member so if you are reading this, it more than likely wasn't you (and if you ARE reading this, well, hmmmmm, I'm going to say the Lord led you to it, and now you know, I know). ANYWAY, I have been stuck on it, I have been so stuck on it that Francesca Battistelli's "If We're Honest" has ran through my mind like a Singer sewing machine most of the week. And even though this song isn't talking about the type of lying that this person did, I just decided since it was on my mind, I might as well use it.

I normally give you a song that reminds me of my devotional;  this week, I am going to base my devotional on this song. There are just so many facets to this though, because I think this song is based on bearing your soul to each other as well as bearing it to Jesus.

I have admitted before I don't like to tell people what is wrong in my life when it is actually wrong, I like to wait for the ending before I critique what the lesson really was--sometimes it takes a turn I didn't expect so it is just easier to wait it out. Not trying to  be deceptive, and I usually have a small group of friends that know what is going on when bad things are happening, they are my prayer warriors and maybe this is a bit about that too.


Anyway, here is my take-away from this song.

The first verse says:

Truth is harder than a lie
The dark seems safer than the light
And everyone has a heart that loves to hide
I'm a mess and so are you
We've built walls nobody can get through
Yeah, it may be hard, but the best thing we could ever do, ever do

So, quite simply, you know how you meet a friend on the street and exchange pleasantries? That is exactly what we expect, a pleasant answer: "Hi, how are you?" "fine, thanks, and you?" Do you ever get taken aback a little when someone starts in..."well, ... and the word fine was never mentioned and you are still standing there 10 minutes later and you are trying to figure out how to get it to stop? I am guilty of being in a hurry and really expecting an "I'm good" and go on down the road only to get a little irritated when that is not what comes out.  God gave me a HUGE attitude adjustment about this though. H.U.G.E.  

I learned a long time ago though that people sometimes need to talk and God may have put you in that position because you are the one who needs to listen. I learned this the hard way, and though I didn't do the wrong thing, I didn't do the right thing willing and I do regret that.  I had a client who had a baby. She had family nearby but they were not close. This client would come in to my office and a appointment that would normally take me 15 minutes would always take me at least 45 because she would talk just as hard as she could from the time she came in until the time she left.

She died, and so did her baby. Sadly, she had an aneurysm and died and there was nobody who even missed her so the baby died of starvation. The phrase "being Jesus to your fellow man" changed its meaning to me that day. She was basically all alone in the world and I was her sounding board. And as I said, I didn't shut her down or tell her to leave but I was thinking how behind I was getting because she was talking. So those words, the truth is harder than a lie? When someone says they are fine, that's the easy way out, and excepting it when you know the other person is not fine makes it the easy way out for you as well. . Everyone has a heart that loves to hide. When God has sent someone to you and they open up, say a little prayer to yourself that you will be just the minister He intended you to be. And, if someone asks you how you are and you feel that nudge that you are suppose to say more than, "I'm fine", then maybe there is a reason.  Something you are going through or have to say is going to help the one there or believe it or not, (don't gasp) they might be able to help you!  I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as coincidence, God is working all the time, and because you have free will, you have the power to say, "Not today, God, I'm too busy" or "If this is where you want me, this is where I'll be". I think we are all guilty of asking God to use us and then when He gives us the opportunity we are clueless. When someone is putting that wall down and you are the one that is there, don't give them a reason to add another layer or two because nobody cares. I had a friend once who said she never told anybody her problems because 2/3rds of the world just don't care and the other 1/3 thinks they are funny. How sad. Let's commit to not being either one of those.

That's where the chorus of this song comes in,

Bring your brokenness, and I'll bring mine
'Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy's waiting on the other side
If we're honest
If we're honest
Yep, how much easier is it to talk to someone that you know isn't perfect? And sometimes you don't want advice, you just want someone to listen. As I have told Andrew and as Robert has told me, "I don't want you to fix it, I just want you to listen". Sometimes hearing what you are worrying about out loud makes it a whole lot more manageable.

The next verse is me....it is what I battle with constantly:

Don't pretend to be something that you're not
Living life afraid of getting caught
There is freedom found when we lay
our secrets down at the cross, at the cross

 I do know the song is talking about putting on such a mask when things are wrong in your life that nobody has a clue. Don't get me wrong,  I am not promoting walking around like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Afterall, if you are a Christian, ideally, those weights should be on Jesus' shoulders, but we all know we are human and half the battle is fighting with him to take them back after you have handed them over. And that is exactly what it is talking about laying our secrets down at the cross. He is the one perfect listener. And unlike all of us humans, he is the one who can change things, sometimes it isn't even anything material, it is just our minds that need changed--He can do that!


Another thing happened this week and I am just heartsick. A family in Casey lost their 11-year-old son in an ATV accident. I didn't know the family but so many of my friends did, so of course, it has been on my mind. There is a movement going on to do a Random Act of Kindness today to help honor his memory. His friends and family are laying him to rest today. So, I felt this goes right along with my devotional. Share a Random Act of Kindness today, and maybe along the way, spend some time with someone that just doesn't have that many people to lean on.

Here is the song that led to the devotional: