Living With Brothers and Sisters


In my spiritual walk things have been changing but I'm a little confused. It is my desire to be transparent with people. With my wife and children, I think I share both my hopes, desires and some honest self-assessment. I understand my weaknesses and seek to find grace in them. One of my entirely overwhelming weaknesses is that I have a different sense of what would be appropriate. I don't recognize this as sin but as simply being different how I step in social and organizational circles. As the old saying goes, if everyone thinks you have a problem, then you probably do. So I probably do have a problem. However, my experience though is that when I try to discuss the issue with a brother in the Lord they immediately start to distance themselves from me. Then sometimes I even have those same people want me to confess my sins to them. I wonder, if they can't stomach my weaknesses, how much more will they reject me along with my sin. I do believe in confessing our sins to God and to other Christians. While this is not what I desire, my mode of operation is to not trust my brothers in Christ with my weakness or sin. This is not where I want to be in my spiritual walk. In a sense it is not what the books on Christian discipleship say should be going on. I'm at a loss to know how to talk with my brothers in Christ. If I'm feeling this and I believe in transparent witness and walk, how much harder is it for those who really don't know if they believe it or not.
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16 ESV

Comments

Milton Stanley said…
For what it's worth, as much as I hear people say how much they value honest and transparency, I've run across precious few Christians who really know what to do when they encounter it. Send me an e-mail if you'd like to converse further about this issue. I'll be praying for you, Terry. Peace.
8:43 AM
:: MERRY :: said…
In my daughter's church (the best church I know of -- New City Fellowship in Saint Louis), they have house church on Tuesday nights. This is her true "church family", where she can bare her heart and ask for prayer, and others can as well. When I visit her every summer, I do not go to house church with her, because it is such a personal time for those in the group, it just wouldn't be appropriate. BTW, lots of blogs talk about "religion" but I was glad to find yours, and see that you are also seeking authenticity and transparency in your walk with God. Blessings, Mary Cooke
11:59 AM
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