Transparency

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.”1 That’s something that is often very hard to do. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see a lot of that happening in our churches today.

We don’t like to be transparent, it requires that we swallow our pride and admit that we fail, just like everyone else. We prefer to let people see the façade of perfection. It’s so much easier to just keep quiet and let people think that we are good little Christians. But we’re not. James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many ways.” None of us are perfect, and I think we all know that to some degree, but as we look at those around us, it seems as if they are perfect and we are not. It’s hard to admit your sin, when it feels like you are the only one who struggles. It’s not easy to admit your sin to someone when they appear to be perfect, but it is something that God commands.

While it is hard to admit our sin, the accountability that transparency provides does so much to help us live for Christ. There’s something about knowing that someone else knows, that they care, and that they are praying for you that just helps so much.

One of my favorite songs is Stained Glass Masquerade by Casting Crowns, I’d like to share the lyrics with you:

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

*Chorus*
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open

Or would you walk away

Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

Well if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Sadly, that is the condition of many of our churches. We come and play a part, one that we’ve played our whole lives, and make sure that no one can see our struggles. We would never dare let anyone else know we sin. We go on for years, sometimes our whole lives, playing this part, hiding our weakness and our sin. Why? Because of our stupid pride. We need to learn humility, and confess our faults to one another. And when someone else has a problem, we need to learn to pray for them, instead of talking about them. One of the greatest hindrances to transparency for me is the gossips that I know will talk about me if I dare let something out. They won’t believe the best and try to help me, they’ll simply look down on me. I can’t do anything to change them, but I can make sure that I don’t do the same thing when others admit their sin.

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1 James 5:16