verdad.

this whole thing called honesty--it puts people all in a tizzy. we can't handle it; we don't want to "be the bearer of bad news", nor do we want to be on the receiving end. we constantly beat around the bush to save our skin, hoping that we can drench a hard truth in sugar, but if not, we just won't say anything. i'm not trying to get into politics, but i will say one thing. we've all seen an interview with a political figure, or we've seen a debate of some kind, and we all know that there seems to be a chronic disease or something that's standard for all politicians: they simply can't tell the truth. i'm not saying that all politicians are this way, but i think we can all agree that, comparatively, there's much more of an avoidance of questions than direct responses to them. that's just one example of the lack of honesty in the world today. but that chronic disease that i mentioned is called sin, and dishonesty is one of many forms of it. jesus addressed this problem time and time again, especially when dealing with the pharisees. furthermore, in john 8:31-32, we read, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" you can see right here from these two verses that truth is essential in a person's salvation. the thing that is oftentimes hard to swallow, is that when we deal we truth, we must be confronted with the brutally honest truth of our sinfulness. that's the hard part. the natural inclination to shrink away from that is manifested even in the smallest things in our lives, like the lack of confrontation in so many relationships. we hate to bring the dirty stuff to the surface so that it can be dealt with. the fact is, without honesty, relationships will fail to thrive like they would granted the truth was told. more importantly, we must spend time "cleaning out our own closets" persay before we start the spring cleaning in outer areas of our lives. so, i think it's about time we all get our hands a little dirty and get honest with ourselves, with God, and with each other. and as said in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."