Open to Truth?

While stopped at an intersection, an automobile and a bicycle both attempted to sneak through a red light at the end of a yellow. The bike was going straight and the car was turning left, and they collided. The car was barely moving and fortunately, the woman on the bike was not hurt….but she was mad! She jumped up off the ground and picked her bike up, ripped her helmet off, and with bike in tow, ran after the car screaming at the driver. I asked Junior, who was sitting next to me, “What is she so mad about? She ran the red light, too! You’d think someone on a bike would know better than to ride out into oncoming traffic.” He responded, “Ya, but that’s how people are; they are always sure they are in the right, even when they are obviously not.”True. And in fact, I’m no exception. Studies show that when people are interviewed to share their observations, of just about any experience or event, the person being interviewed will slant the story just a bit to put themselves in the best light. It’s human nature to want others to think better of us than what we know to be true. But that’s also a major barrier in overcoming some of the worst problems we face. You can’t defeat a problem you do not acknowledge.Both Old and New Testaments speak of “Walking in the light” (Psalm 89:15, Isaiah 2:5, 1 John 1:7), which means just that, living in open exposure before God, as opposed to attempting to hide who we really are. Once we reveal who we really are before God, and a few other trusted people, showing a genuine openness for truth with a mindset for change, we are able to act on the steps necessary for overcoming that problem. But without that vulnerability, or willingness for our weaknesses to be exposed, no substantive change can take place.When I was in college, a friend said to me, “Scott, you are too negative. I need to stop hanging around with you. You are rubbing off on me and I get critical when we’re together.” That made me mad! How dare he! Within a few minutes, I had all the best responses in my mind, accusing him of being more negative than me and why I had been right in my discernment, as I called my critical attitude. It wasn’t until later that evening when I got my Bible out to read, that the truth of his stinging words struck home. When I was willing to stop defending myself, I began to see my heart and my attitude the way God saw it. And it wasn’t pretty. That led me on a journey that helped change my outlook and disposition. I have my friend, Bob, to thank for that.Are you still in denial about your anger, selfishness, prejudice, immorality, resentment, addictions, worry, or laziness? The first step to overcoming is by opening yourself up to God and what He wants to teach you, and to let Him use those closest to you to identify those areas that can be and should be changed.“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 2:7–NIV).