a final word on honesty

Tracey wrote to me with a wonderful comment about honesty which I think sums up really well the discussion we've all been having on this blog and Simone's. No more needs to be said (not by me, anyway!). With her kind permission, here it is:

I agree that this is a tricky issue and I think is a matter of motivation and ultimately our focus.

I can think of a time recently when I was chatting to a friend after the loss of someone very dear to me. I shared that I was struggling to pray and read my Bible because I was angry with God. She shared that she too has had times when she has struggled in this way but she didn't leave it there. She went on to remind me of God's love and trustworthiness and told me that I needed to get back to talking to Him however hard that might be. So her motivation in sharing came from a desire to empathise and support me but also to challenge me. Her focus was Christ-centered.

In contrast, I can remember a time years ago when I was struggling with an area of sin and someone close to me acknowledged the same struggle but looking back the focus was on ourselves as we kind of just admitted it was just hard and 'all' Christians struggle. There was no motivation to getting our focus and obedience back to our loving Heavenly Father. Our motivation in sharing was maybe even to let each other off the hook!

I think, as Christians it is important we share our weaknesses as it is there that we most understand the glory of God. It is there that we are saved from pride or competitiveness. It is there that we learn a dependence on our Father God.

However, let's be sure that our motives are for one another's 'spiritual' good. Let's always be seeking to point one another back to Christ, his truth and his desires for our lives 'in Him'.

Amen.