The Need for Honesty
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)
It can be argued that the essence of the Christian experience is a new honesty with oneself. We are able to see our sin for what it is, to see our hearts for what they are, because the grace of God in Christ allows us to do so. Whatever we find there — and there will be very dark discoveries for each of us — we may trust that the grace of Christ can handle. Paul demonstrated this type of honesty when he lamented, in the utmost honesty, his own puzzlement and moral failure. His words have echoed in every honest heart since then.
Yet, strangely enough, there is a lot of dishonesty in the church today. It shows itself in different ways, but behind it is an attempt at self-justification, self-righteousness, and self-credit for being a good person.
The legalist is certainly a prime example of blatant dishonesty, a personal man-made religion that lacks the authentic self-examination necessary — even if it is called Christianity. Fault-finding with others is a common way we seek to avoid honesty with ourselves. So long as I can find someone more unrighteous than me, then I can feel better about myself without help by the grace of God.
Fundamentalism seems to be another common way people can continue to wear a mask. I am careful here because it is wrong to say that every fundamentalist is fundamentally dishonest. That is certainly not true. There is no conflict between believing the Bible and being an honest, humble, and self-searching believer. In fact, true belief in the Word of God should result in exactly this type of authentic self-searching, for this what we see in those in the Book.
Yet there is a type of Fundamentalism that uses issues, such as “Science vs Scripture,” to mask the issue of personal repentance and faith — even if it is entirely inconsistent biblically to do so. I know some Christians who think the only important argument of the Word of God is whether the days in Genesis 1 were twenty-four hours. Yet their very method of arguing the point, the nature of their character, reveals someone who remains an emotional infant in some way.
In both of these cases the issue is not whether we should uphold personal righteousness — we should! Nor is the issue whether or not the Bible speaks authoritatively — it does! But the issue is that they have used an important issue as a smoke screen to mask a dishonest soul. Of course, there are other ways Christians do this as well — such as attention to some church procedure, arguing vociferously about whether something the church decided to do was right or wrong, or was done in the right or the wrong way, or just some one who is upset with something that happened in church. The ways that we can use unimportant things as smoke screens to hide what is not happening in our hearts are endless.
Keith Miller, in his classic book, The Taste of New Wine, addressed the amount of effort we put forth to appear happy, successful, and content. We teach our children to smile through the pain, and though there is something good in not complaining all of the time, there is also the danger of living in blatant dishonesty, thinking that if we appear happy and well adjusted, then that is all that really matters. He wrote these memorable words:
The result is our churches are filled with people who outwardly look contented and at peace but inwardly are crying out for someone to love them … just as they are — confused, frustrated, often frightened, guilty, and unable to communicate even within their own families. But the other people in the church look so happy and copntented that one seldom has the courage to admit his own deep needs before such a self-sufficient group as the average church meeting appears to be… Consequently our modern church is filled with many people who look pure, sound pure, and are inwardly sick of themselves, their weaknesses, their frustration, and the lack of reality around them in the church. (Keith Miller, The Taste of New Wine, pp. 22,27)
Honesty alone is not a solution to this problem. Faith also is required that Jesus is the answer to my need. But these two — honesty and faith — are essential and inseparable parts of the Christian experience, so much so that it can be truly said that you cannot have true faith in Christ without true honesty about your need.
But honesty must start the journey, it must be the first leg of the pilgrimage to heaven. Without an honest assessment of the need of our soul, we can hardly come to faith in Christ. And even as we follow Christ — especially as we follow Christ — we need to develop the attribute of honest, authentic, soul-searching. We need not turn into morbid self-absorbed people to do so, that is not what i am advocating. But we need to be honest.
The trait of those who are honest is, first, that they receive the grace of God in Christ. They are like the tax collector who beat upon his chest in the temple, saying, “Be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13) And then they trust that God has heard their cry and that Christ has accepted them. This dual realization — that I am a sinner and that Christ loves me anyway and has paid for my sin — is the heart of the conversion experience.
The other traits are that they are accepting of others, gracious, patient, inviting, and hopeful. They have found that they are accepted in Christ, and they embrace others fearlessly, knowing that they too can find God’s grace in Him.
So, what is the condition of your soul? Are you honest? Are you exercising faith that Jesus is the answer to your need?
