I was part of a group of people once that was setting out to accomplish a certain task.  We had several meetings before we left so we could get to know each other and to have a clear understanding of what our goal was and what it was not.  Everything went great, with no hints of a future issue until we got to our destination.  We no more hit the ground when one individual became someone they didn’t reveal beforehand.  The next thing we started realizing is this one individual had their own agenda and goals.  Worse yet, as they went about to achieve their goals they hurt others on the team by being rude, condescending, and hurtful.  I wanted to ask them, “Just who do you think you are?”

Consider Psalms 69:5:  God, you know every sin I’ve committed; My life’s a wide-open book before you.

God knows who you are better than you know yourself.  Wouldn’t it be better to be your true self at all times then?  To be an open book in front of everyone?  So anyone who meets you sees the real you no matter what setting you are in?  Perhaps that individual in the group was thinking, if I show who I really am I may not be allowed to go on this trip.  I don’t honestly know what they were thinking, and in spite of them, the main goals set by the team were met, but there were souls wounded in the process, and the worst part of that is it was from friendly fire.

I have recently heard from an old friend.  In the process of catching up I told them they could ask me anything.  I told them, “My life is an open book where God’s the author.”  I went on to say that the chapters I tried to write are messy.

Be open with people.  Be honest.  Be who you are.  You won’t be all smooth and polished, for no one is perfect yet, but at least others who encounter you will know what they are getting into when they get to know you.  That you too, like them, are a work in progress.  Last night in a conversation with a friend where we were talking about how imperfect we are at times he asked, “Why do you think God continues to love us and put up with us?”  I thought for a minute and replied, “Because He must think we are worth it.”  He knows who we are, but He keeps His focus on who we can be in Him.