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Keeping Up Appearances

Church on Mission, Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds
Hyacinth & Richard Bucket from “Keeping Up Appearances”

Having grown up watching British comedies with my parents, we always enjoyed the antics of Hyacinth Bucket (which she insisted was pronounced Bouquet) as she tried to aspire to a higher social class than she was really in. Each week her attempts to seem high brow would go terribly awry, often at the hands of her family who were quite common. Her efforts to put on a good act and her distress as the wheels came off made the show very funny and it was very popular.

Often times our approach to church can look very similar to this. Church is where we are supposed to bring our best, look our best, be our best. Such pressure is tough to legitimately maintain. It would be nice if we were truly always at our best, but life rarely allows us to consistently operate in “best” mode. We have setbacks, interpersonal struggles, sin that so easily entangles us, and just general weakness. Yet when its time for church we put on our Sunday best: nice clothes, nice smile, spiritual answers, and praise the Lord together. Like Hyacinth, this can result in some unintended comedic situations (that would be funny if they weren’t so tragic). We fight with spouse or kids before we leave, even on the way with a stressful car ride, but then emerge from the car as a well adjusted spiritually thankful family. The tension will wait for us in the car for the ride home. We also may act out worship and devotion when we really don’t feel particularly close to God and may be spiritually dry or struggling. For the hour or two of church, we are able to appear to be what we want to be or at least think we’re supposed to be.

For too long we’ve allowed and encouraged this kind of culture in our churches. The cost, the disapproval, the whispers, or even judgement of not being “ok” has convinced us that we need to make our best effort to “keep up appearances.” I call this a culture of concealment when what we need is a culture of confession.

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.

(James 5:16)

We are called to have a culture of confession, not concealment. We need to realize that it is our natural state to struggle, to be weak, to be in the midst of battle against our flesh and worst impulses. If we would be honest with one another and no feel the need to keep up a good appearance, perhaps we would all grow more and also find more people in the world who were willing to find solutions with us in Christ as well. We need to worry less about if we all measure up and realize that all have sinned and fall short, and the good that we would do we do not do. We are all in daily need of the grace and mercy of God and we experience that grace and mercy the most when we give it to each other as we confess our sins and failings to each other.

If you are part of a church, can you help transform the culture into one that is less about keeping up appearances and more about letting Christ appear in the midst of our weakness? Can you resolve to quit the performance and pressure of trying to live up to something you haven’t achieved and instead be a community that cares for sinners. I’m thankful that we are working on being that kind of community at Bean’s Corner. This imperfect struggling man has found grace and mercy from Christ and His Body, the Church.

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My Undefeated Team

Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds

I love my team because they are undefeated. There have been many times that people thought they were on the verge of defeat and even elimination, but each time it turned out that victory was just around the corner. I’m not talking about the Patriots, so if you started this article thinking this would be boasting about the Pat’s current record (which I am also enjoying) I apologize. The team I’m talking about is the Church.

The pattern for victory began with our founder, Jesus, who came and lived with us and showed us what the Kingdom looked like. He cared for the powerless and forgotten. He reached out to the rejected and the weak & sick. He called people to move beyond the power politics of the human world and embrace being servants and slaves. He told us to act pretty much opposite every human self-interest impulse. This message was so threatening, that the powers that were decided He needed to die and kill Him they did.

At least that’s what they thought they did. As it turned out, He didn’t lose His life, he laid it down and after three days, picked it right back up and walked back out of the grave. What had looked like a sure defeat was the biggest victory there was. That was only the beginning. His death founded His Church and He told us that the gates of death (often translated hell, but more fittingly death) wouldn’t overcome it. Since that time, man has repeatedly tried to wipe out the team. Rome tried for a while, and later empires have also tried. Jesus’ words have proven very true and today His Church is growing the fastest in places where man is trying hardest to eliminate it.

If you are an American Christian, you might be forgiven if you didn’t realize your team was undefeated. There are many earthly leaders in the USA these days that are working to convince us that we are teetering on the verge of defeat. To listen to their fear, we are just a couple of elections or legislative moves away from an existential crisis. I’m getting tired of these so-called leaders, even inside of the church preaching such fear when Jesus told me not to fear. I’m tired of listening to them bemoan possible rejection by society when Jesus told me to “count it all joy when you encounter various trials.” I’m weary of the shock and outrage these leaders try to instill in me when His Word tells me not to be surprised when the world hates me and to not act as if some strange thing was happening to me.

My team is undefeated. The gates of hell/death will not prevail. God’s Word will never fail. God’s Kingdom is here in one sense (Christians) and is coming with no chance that any act of man or even devil will be able to derail or delay His plan. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the World.

Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever. He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is upheld, he will not fear, Until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.

(Psalms 112:4-8)

The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.

(Psalms 118:6-9)

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,

(1 Peter 3:13-14)
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On the 7th Day, God Went to Church

Church on Mission, Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds

This will seem like an odd admission from a pastor, but we’ve never forced our kids to go to church. Likewise, we have never forced them to go visit their grandparents. We have just gone and they have come with us because we enjoy it and it is a good thing for us to do. Now my kids are getting big, the oldest having turned 16 this summer. Still, my kids are not forced to go to church. Quite the contrary. Now that we have two services, I have to leave early to get over to church before 8 am for the first service. My wife comes later to help with Children’s ministry and attend the second service. The kids could sleep in a bit, or just hang out at home, but No, they rush around to make sure they get to leave with me. They want to be “at church.”

Ok, now we need to unpack that. Culturally, we call what happens Sunday morning AND where it happens “Church.” Neither of these uses is strictly accurate by New Testament usage since the Church in the New Testament is the body of believers in any and all places. We ARE commanded to make sure we get together, but the Bible does not specify where and when. Sunday morning in the big white building is a choice we’ve made.

I love to gather on Sunday in the big white building, but not because I go to “God’s House” Some people like to quote, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” ” (Psalms 122:1) . This is talking about the Temple which is not now pictured by our “Church” buildings but rather by Us. We are the Temple of God now. (1 Corinthians 3:16). I love to attend on Sunday morning because I love to gather with my fellow believers and be One Another together. My kids like to come for the same reason. This is also why I love going to 3 o’clock Study, Choir Practice, Men’s Breakfast, Young Married Men’s Study, and pretty much anything else. I love fellowshipping with the Body, the Group of Believers.

These days, I find that not everyone can always make Sunday morning. I miss them when they are not there and it makes me sad when I have to go a week or two without fellowshipping with some of the One Anothers. They are my brothers and sisters and I long to be with them often. I am excited when the ones that I don’t get to connect with on a Sunday morning choose a different time or even place to make sure we still connect as One Another in a group. That is what we are called to. Not to forsake fellowshipping and connecting as a Group, as the One Another.

I still feel that for now, Sunday morning is one (not the only) of the best times for everyone to try to come together to experience the One Another, to join our individual temples together into a time of doing God’s calling together, but no matter how you gather together any given week, just realize that it is a good thing. I am glad my kids have learned to want it, because no one can force anyone to love the one another, it is something you have to learn and desire as a part of God’s family.

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Smelly Loser

Church on Mission, Life in Christ

When it comes to our engagement with our American Culture these days, we often seem to be engaged in a fight for our rights and political power. We have been used to being the culturally dominant force and as that is fading away, we’ve gotten a bit desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. As a result, the white evangelical movement has, as a whole, been willing to set aside some previous convictions in return for political access and protection. It has worked in some ways currently, but there have been some serious trade-offs.

Victorious Roman military leaders, after winning a campaign, would return home and take part in a Triumphal Procession where they would parade through the city with their soldiers and also the prisoners they had captured. As part of the procession, there would be people burning incense. The result was a display of the conquered prisoners and you would smell the aroma of the procession all around the city.

Paul grabs this imagery as He considered that he had been publicly conquered by Jesus. He wrote:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

(2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

We read that “leads us in triumph” as American Christians and we think about being the victors, but that is not the image Paul is relaying. He is seeing Jesus as the victor and himself as the prisoner, being led through the streets, displayed as no longer being free in himself, but a slave to Jesus, and the aroma of the procession is noticeable to all, signifying Christ’s conquest. What did this display of being Christ’s captive look like? Paul explains it.

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

(1 Corinthians 4:9-13)

There is a lot for us to learn here about how we should see our role in our American culture. We should be on display as Christ’s captives, fully conquered by him, an aroma of salvation. I see too often people who name the name of Christ, including those who are regarded leaders of the church, who ridicule, insult, and mock political opponents and those that oppose us. How opposite of what Paul lived, blessing when reviled and trying to conciliate when being slandered. Imagine the attention we would get if we responded differently to the current political climate than everyone else who is busy trying to be a king instead of a slave of the King. Perhaps then we would have a different aroma to those who don’t know Christ. We need that sweet aroma because the current political discourse of this country stinks.

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My Family is Seeing a Doctor

Personal

It is time I confessed that we as a family have been seeing a Doctor. We do not dread these appointments, rather, my children are often eagerly inquiring whether I have to be out any given night. They are eager for me to be home so we can participate in one of our group activities.

I confess that I have feared raising kids even though I was eager to have a family. I had heard all the stories, seen the terrifying possibilities of “pastor’s kids” and worried that as they hit their teenage years, things could get ugly.

Reality has been far more fun than my fears anticipated. A big part of that is how much we enjoy being together. Over the years I, or my wife, have kept up a steady pattern of reading books with our kids. I took them through the entire Lord of the Rings series and other fun books. Currently, I am reading them a series of short stories from Isaac Asimov as well as Garrison Keilor’s “Lake Wobegon Days.” Sarah has read through the Little House books and several other series. Then there are the family viewing nights where we’ve been working through Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, as well as Dr Who, both classic and current varieties.

My favorite thing though is the laughter (although, to be fair, when I’m tired and they are busy fooling around together and laughing, I get tired of it) that we share. I will very freely admit that I get grumpy sometimes and can not be the life of the party, but overall we manage to laugh more than anything else and that laughter keeps a lot of tension out of our relationships. It has reduced discipline issues between parents and kids and reduced stress between parents. I find that the more I lead the household with laughter and joy, the more it bleeds through the other relationships in the house. (Conversely, when I’m grumpy, that tends to quickly spread too.)

If I am home, I am often the one that tucks the kids into bed. As I pray with my kids, we thank God for our family and how he gave us to each other. We learn together, play together, and seek to follow and serve the Lord together. Ministry is not something that is Daddy’s job but instead is simply the thing that gives pattern and direction to our entire lives. I am excited to find that as a result of this, as my kids are getting older, they are seeking opportunities to be involved in ministry without any push or nudge from us parents. It is simply how they understand living life. This fills me with joy.

We aren’t done yet as there are still plenty of steps on this path, but I am thankful and joyful that I enjoy being home and being with the people who live here with me.

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Finding Rest

Personal

And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

(Exodus 33:14)

On a good day, ministry is exhausting. On a medium day, it wears one down. On a bad day, it is crushing. My experience is that any given week can produce some of each kind of day. There are moments of great reward, fun times, glimpses of the victories of God. There are the moments of uncertainty, of ambiguity, of doubt. Then there are the moments where you face the darkness, with sin staring you in the face, anger, rebellion, and the loss and hurt that results from it. After all these moments, you feel tired, and it’s not the physical weariness of heavy physical labor, it is inward tiredness that then radiates outward from deep within until your limbs feel heavy.

Where is God’s rest then? We tend to think of rest as when the labor is over and we can be done, but I find myself dealing with situations, and walking with others through darkness where there is no immediate end to the trouble. No fix or respite is available, no reprieve from the reality of sin and its effects on us. Where then is rest?

I have been learning a new reality of what that rest looks like. It doesn’t look like a warm fuzzy, a comfortable bed, or a deep sigh of release as the problems and stresses melt away. It is rest born of companionship and understanding. I don’t feel better, I can’t make it better, it’s not going to get better for now, but….. I know that I am not alone now and I know that this is not the end. This doesn’t make the weariness go, but it lets me experience rest in the weariness.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Abba Father said there’d be days like this; there’d be days like this, Abba said. My weariness with this world is not a lack of His rest, but instead a call to make sure that I find my rest in Him and not in the false placeboes of this world. God doesn’t numb my pain or my weariness, He joins me in it, He holds me during it, and He reminds me that this is when I most know His power as I live at the end of my strength and resources.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

(Matthew 11:28-30)

His service is hard, life in Christ is the life of suffering, and can even lead us to physical death. His yoke is easy and He brings rest for my soul. It isn’t designed to make me feel good walking through this world, but it brings me rest in the midst of the great weariness the sinfulness this world brings.

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Heart of a….

Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds

Warrior is a word which appeals to many of us. We like to think of ourselves as fighters. Of course, there are plenty of fights to be had in this day and age, and our society has become rather defined by one fight after another. As a result, we are deeply concerned with fighting, with knowing what side each person is on, and labeling, condemning, and attacking our “enemies” on the other side.

In Fort Worth, Texas, a now former police officer has been charged with murder after a shooting that left a young woman dead. The details of the case are tragic and scary, but this quote stood out to me from Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus concerning training his officers, “We’re trying to ensure that they act and react… with the servant’s heart, instead of a warrior’s heart.”

Think about the power of that image; a servant’s heart instead of a warrior’s heart. We are eager to be warriors and reluctant to be servants. When we sit down at our keyboards to fight the daily war on social media, we are ready to be keyboard warriors, making fun of the other side, demeaning, demonizing, and mocking all those who do not share our enlightenment. Sometimes we are being warriors for Jesus, helping fight for His kingdom. There is one problem with that.

The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all…

(2 Timothy 2:24a)

…whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;

(Mark 10:43)

Jesus, omnipotent God of the universe did not march down onto earth with what we would call the heart of a warrior. He came, not to be served, but to serve and give His life. We in turn are called to be like Him, to imitate and follow His example. The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes that we are to have the heart of a servant, not the heart of a warrior. We are told to bless, not curse, our enemies. We are told to love our enemies and pray for them. We are commanded to honor unjust masters and leaders.

“We are eager to be warriors and reluctant to be servants “

I am thankful for the men and women who choose to serve us. Soldiers, Police Officers, Firefighters, Civil Servants, and many more. I admire all those that seek to have a heart of service rather than the heart of a warrior. As a follower of Christ, I pray that I might strive to cultivate in myself a willingness to be a servant, and be less enthralled with being a warrior. As the Chief said, to act and react with the heart of a servant.

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The Moment Everything Changed

Life in Christ, Personal

This morning my wife rushed to get everything together and loaded to head to the Farmington Fair for Ag Day. Pots and pots of applesauce to be milled with the students who would come to the Fairgrounds. She was running late, she was planning to arrive at the Fairgrounds close to 8:30 am, but still home when there was a very loud noise close to 8:30 am, heard all over our county. In that moment everything changed.

For our family is was a pretty minor change. It changed our schedule and plans for our morning. Others in our community experienced much greater changes. At least one life was lost, a workplace and community resource was destroyed, and for many life after that explosion will never be like it was before the explosion.

We all experience these moments of profound change where life shifts sideways or upside down or just stops. An accident, a diagnosis, a call with news unexpected, and suddenly everything is different. I will never forget the phone call where I learned that they had discovered cancer in my father.

We like to think that we are in control of our lives and destinies. We like to think that we know what is happening and what is going to happen. We even tend to think that we deserve things to happen in a certain way, always positive for us. So often we then face moments where those ideas a ripped from us and we face an event that becomes a focal, turning point.

The Bible tries to warn us that this is the case. It warns us that we do not know what a day will bring forth, that our lives are like a vapor, or like grass that quickly whithers, like a flower that only blooms briefly. It even warns us that the world as we have constructed it in our humanity is no respector of good planning and virtue.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
(Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)

Today my heart aches for families and friends in my community who are facing the death or serious injury of loved ones. I’m also thinking of my friends who are facing more personal and private turning points. Divorces, job changes, relationship strife, health issues, and any number of other events that suddenly make everything different.
This is why I hold onto Christ. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not suddenly shift or change, and events to not overtake Him. This world is full of uncertainty and evil. Our lives are fragile and short. My hope is beyond myself.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
(Psalms 62:5-8)

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Of Coarse

Life in Christ

I read an article that got me thinking about a trend in our culture that is bleeding into the People of Jesus. A coarsening of language. “Swearing” is nothing even remotely new to the human condition and society. What is changing is our view and acceptance of it. How this has changed is less about some arbitrary behavioral standard or attempt to “act good” and much more an outward manifestation of our inward values, both as indivuals and as a culture.

There are a few different words in English that we use to describe “bad” words. Each one has a particular meaning, although in common usage, most people don’t diffentiate. For fun, let’s consider them though.

  • Obscenity: This holds the idea of something repulsive, normally concerning things bodily or especially sexual. Many of our modern swear words come from this. Words describing body-parts/functions and sex-acts. No need to list them, I think we know what we’re talking about.
  • Profanity: From profane which means to take something holy (special) and make it unholy (common). These stopped being considered overly taboo by the general culture a long time ago, but are still sometimes considered swearing by more conservative religious people. “Holy Cow!” “Heavens to Betsy!” etc, are no longer considered taboo by most in even our churches, but a subset of profanity, Blasphemy, the profaning of God Himself, taking His name in vain still has greater pushback. Using “God” or “Jesus” as exclamations, or linking them with other words (g-d–) is generally avoided by those seeking to follow Christ.

You used to not be able to say pretty much any of these things on TV, then not on TV except late at night. Then cable and satellite came along, and it became more normal. At the same time more language became ok for PG movies instead of getting you an “R” rating. Now, it is part of our discourse, or perhaps I should say discoarse. The president, and now many of the next presidential candidates feel free to not only use such language, but to feature it. This is not about just a shifting set of language norms, but a reflection something greater.

The reason words become Taboo is because we don’t like the misuse things we value. The way we treat the names of the things, show how much we value those things. Our culture as a whole stopped being worried about “holy” things quite a long time ago, and as a result, those words stopped being “bad.” Now in today’s culture, sexual and bodily things are no longer special but common and open to mockery. So, the words that go with those things are now fair game. At the same time, our culture has started to embrace what was formerly considered crude as now a mark of “authenticity” since watching your words and being careful, respectful, and pure are probably just acts that no one really does. If it is all an act, than being crude, sexual, edgy, must be a sign that you are real.

To a point that is probably true, because there have always been plenty of people whose purity and character was an act. However, that is not always the case, and the failures of character shouldn’t become the new rule. That is what the world has done, and too often people who call themselves Christians have conformed to this world on this point.

Jesus calls us to something else, something better. It is not about just “watching your mouth.” It is about letting your words have value and valuing what God values. There are implications that might make us as Christians uncomfortable.

  • I don’t joke about mother-inlaws and how bad they are because I love and value my mother-inlaw.
  • You will never hear me joke about my wife in a disrespectful way (“the old ball & chain”, “my old lady” etc.) because I love and value her and would never want to give a different impression.
  • I don’t use either profane or obscene language, not because I’m trying to keep some rule, but because I love and value both my God, and human sexuality as given to us by God.

Your values WILL be reflected in your language, and people end up literally “telling” on themselves as they let loose. Jesus, in His Word, encouraged us to a different spirit that then will show up in our words. Let’s close our discussion with some words in red and take some time to consider what is proceeding out of our mouths.

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
(Matthew 15:18-19)

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
(Matthew 12:34)

This is the article the sparked my thoughts today:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-uttered-what-many-supporters-consider-blasphemy-heres-why-most-will-probably-forgive-him/2019/09/13/685c0bce-d64f-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html

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The Show Must Go…..

Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds

” All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players “

William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.


(Psalms 51:16-17)

It is so easy to put on a good show. Well, maybe not easy, but it seems clear by what I see around me so often that many consider it much easier than the alternative. I find this particularly true for many who call themselves Christians.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know many honest, dedicated people of God who are authentic and who’s true lives are the same lives that you see in public and even online. There are many more, unfortunately, who are working hard to project an image of what they believe they ought to be or work to live up to what they think is expected of them, either by God or church, or whoever.

Our human pride means that all of us like to “polish the apple” a little when it comes to ourselves. It is natural to try to put our best foot forward and to be a little extra charitable in our self-explanations. What is unfortunate is how this quickly can become an act, a performance, a false front that we show the world to seem more noble, more spiritual, more vituous that we really are.

And therein lies our danger. When you are performing, rounding up, putting forth your best image in lieu of showing your true self, you are always in danger of being unmasked. This is why sometimes “preachers kids” can be bitter. When the view of their father at church and around others is at odds with the man who they live with at home when the mask is dropped, they are turned off to the message of the “church dad” as they know it to be a performance.

An alternative is to be REAL. This is harder on the ego but easier in the long run. It requires that you work on one person, not one image. That means actually being ready to die to self, being honest about your failures and sins, your short-falls and weaknesses. This can be brutal on your ego but marvelous for the work of God in your life. My personal experience has been that as I am honest with my wife about my fears, insecurities, and struggles, my bond with her grows stronger, her patience with me and her mercy towards me grows greater, and my ability to face the worst parts of myself in Christ is more real. In the same way, I have found that I can parent my children more effectively by pointing out my own struggles as a guide to them dealing with their own. As I confess my sins to them, I can more effectively help them confront their own sin and selfishness. This also means that the Dad they see in church is the exact same man that they spend time with at home. They have even heard me confess my failures at home to the church. This means that when I speak the truth of God’s Word at church, they don’t have reason to doubt my honesty.

Sadly, there are many who name the Name of Christ and yet are still putting on a suit of spirituality when the occasion calls for it, but are hiding a lot of mess underneath. That calls us back to Psalm 51. God doesn’t want a big showy performance or an elaborate act of sacrifice. He wants brokenness. A broken and contrite heart will not be despised. Time to drop the act, start killing that pride, and be real.

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