Well
maybe not completely but it is getting more rare. In a season of politics a
direct answer is a rare event. Yes and no are in danger of extinction if politicians
and small children are their keepers. There seems to be a sense of concern as
to the repercussions for a simple, direct, concise answer. We know it will be
misconstrued and misunderstood. I think in reality that will happen anyway
whether we answer or not.
In
striving not to offend anyone with an answer or opinion, we fail to answer at
all which by the way is an answer.
However,
in this age of social media everyone now has a platform to share their opinion
even when it would be better for them to be thought a fool than to write
something and remove all doubt. Some just “let it fly” with no regard as to
damage or consequences. They seem to wear the backlash as a badge of honor at
least on the visible side. It is OK for them to “vent” however they like but
their skin is remarkably thin when another takes issue with their venting and
responds in kind. The dialogue then becomes name calling and labeling in the
harshest terms. I wonder what happened to free speech and the right to be
wrong?
Our
concern over the response to honesty spills into our spiritual life. It’s not
new this tendency to not be honest. I believe sometimes we don’t even know we
are not honest especially when it comes to feelings and long term situations.
We see this in an exchange with Jesus in John 5. There is a pool called
Bethesda where the sick and infirmed gathered daily. It was said that an angel
stirred the water occasionally if you were the first in the water you would be
healed. Jesus made his way to this pool.
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When
Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He
said to him, “Do
you want to get well?” John 5:5-6 HCSB
You see the answer
here? It’s a yes or no question isn’t it? Any one of us outside of his life
could answer YES! But that was not his answer. I remind you he had been sick
for 38 years. He answers with an excuse.
7 “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to
put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming,
someone goes down ahead of me.”
John 5:7 HCSB
Let
me ask you are you honest with God? When you come before God are you just
yourself. Do you talk to God the same way you talk any other time? When God
asks you a question are you honest or do you have an excuse? I fear the answer
to the honest question is no if we are honest. We don’t speak the same. We have
phrases and tone that we apply to ourselves from habit or as a mask so that we
might appear to God a little better than we are. Or maybe it is just for
ourselves to feel better before a Holy God. Guess what? It doesn’t work.
How
about an “honesty is the best policy” policy. When we approach God remember he
knows EVERYTHING about you and what you have done and not done. There is no
fooling him or getting away with anything. But also know this, all of that
knowledge does not and cannot diminish his love for you or his desire to have a
relationship with you. You can learn to be honest with God and be comfortable
with him. Jesus made that possible. So, since Jesus is asking if you want to
get well. What is your answer? There are only two choices.
In
HIS service and yours,
BroG
