These were questions I grew to dread over the past year.
In our society today, and especially in the south, being polite is expected. It's just what you do, when you see someone you are supposed to ask how they are or how they have been. It's the nice thing to do, right? Well it is, but do we really ask these questions wanting an honest answer?
I quickly became very good at giving the "right" answer to those two questions I mentioned. A simple yes or good is what I thought they would want to hear, they don't want to know the truth, or I don't want to burden them with my problems are the things I would tell myself. The truth was this past year was the hardest year of my life, but in a way it was great, because God taught me so much. I had become a master of hiding the pain or heartache I was going through with a smile and a few surface answers. I continued with this life of surface happiness as I came home from school.
And then came a new question...
How was your summer?
I wanted to be able to say it was great! But the truth was I was terrified of some things that were happening, and others just felt like they were falling apart. There came a point during summer when I had basically lost hope, I joked that if I planned it would happen you could pretty much put money on the fact that it wouldn't. I felt like I was stuck, God was teaching me so much, but I was stuck in this cycle of disappointment, this was when I became so convicted of what I call the "right" answers. You know, giving the easy answer I believed people wanted to hear.
We live in a society that wants everyone to be "happy" so we ask and answer these questions that show we care and we give answers that make life sound great all the time. This summer when I started to see the need I had to be real with someone I asked myself how often do I ask these wanting to know the truth or answer them honestly. For me that was not the majority. It was then that I truly saw the need for honesty in our lives.
Honesty is the best policy, as cliche as it may sound it is true. The fact is God works in different ways in all of our lives and we should view these simple questions as a witnessing tool, to tell others how God is working. Because the truth is life isn't always great, sometimes it really stinks, and you know what? That's ok. The point of our lives is to bring God glory so if you feeling a little awkward or uncomfortable telling somewhere your life isn't perfect is the cost of sharing the truth about our Lord, I think it's worth it.
On the other side we should want to know the truth, so when we ask the question we should not expect a simple good, or yes.
I guess all in all, over the past year God has really challenged me with the truth; the truth of the gospel, the truth of the struggles of life, and the truth of his joy. I want to live a life that is true, and that involves being real with the people. This life of truth goes hand in hand with a life of love. My desire is to BE REAL and truly live out the truth of the gospel with love.
John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
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