Monday, October 31, 2011

A Halloween Confession

On this Halloween day, it is time to brush aside the cobwebs and resurrect my dead and buried blog. I have recently stolen my share of Halloween candy from my boys’ stashes and it has me thinking about honesty. I will steal it when they’re in the next room. I will take it after they have gone to bed. I even secretly took a piece to work with me today. If we are not careful, we can too easily slip into a lifestyle of deceit, and cover-up. Halloween candy aside, how many people live with destructive secrets that are harbored, enjoyed, and covered up to protect the guilty? It happens every day in marriages, families, relationships, churches and workplaces. We can fool everyone around us, but that’s really nothing to Snicker at. In fact, it is a Whopper of a problem. Deceit and lies and cover ups cause people to live paranoid lives. It builds Mounds of walls between us and others as people live in fear of being discovered.

Honesty is like the chocolate in an M&M. Without it, our relationships will be hollow and disappointing to everyone – including ourselves. When honesty is valued, we have a built-in system of accountability. A person who has nothing to cover up is free. A person who harbors secrets out of fear is a slave to his or her own pride. The Lord sees it all, so let’s start with being brutally honest with Him. Proverbs 15:3 – “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Rather than seeing this promise as a threat, let’s embrace it as a blessing. God’s conviction brings eventual blessing when we choose to value honesty. I’m off to ask for a Reese’s Cup.