A Life of Transparency

Is anyone among you suffering?

Then he must pray.

Is anyone cheerful?

He is to sing praises.

Is anyone among you sick?

Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:13-20

It is for this reason that I'm not afraid to 'let it all hang out'. Neither am I very good at wearing a mask.

For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 8:17

The fellowship of believers is enriched and reveals true biblical love when we are transparent with each other about our sins and when we actually do commit to pray for each other as our minds are renewed by the letter and attitude of the Word of God. And we know that we can reveal our deepest sins to each other because we all have sinned and not one of us has failed to commit an offense that we consider especially heinous against our God that we think is too shameful to admit. Sometimes this can be a test to know who really loves us in the Biblical sense (when used with discretion). The blood of Christ covers all sins, no matter what they are, when confessed before God with an obedient turn of repentance away from it.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

I used to think that if I shared my most shameful sin to another believer in confidence that they would then hate me and think less of me, judging me, accusing me like Satan does. But I've seen that this is just another lie from the devil and the opposite has been true.

One thing I will note though, it is easy to be transparent about the sins the Spirit has convicted me of but sometimes it is not so easy to admit the sins that others bring to my attention. But don't let that stop you from telling me sinful things you see. :-)

Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.

Proverbs 27:5