Don't Put A Mask On Truth

Don't Put A Mask On Truth

        These days putting a face mask seems to be our new "normal." We can't even walk into a public building without one. It's crazy how with all this we can still seek God's truth, and speak it. Although sometimes we want to put a mask on the truth to make it more subtle and appealing to the one who needs to hear it. Why do we do this? The obvious answer is we don't want to hurt or offend anyone with the truth they need to hear. Masks represent hiding, we are hiding something from someone. I'm not talking about facial masks I'm talking about the invisible masks we put on to hide the pain and the hurt, we want to hide our hardships under them to void pain. Masks hide the truth that needs to be heard. However, God calls us to speak His truth. He doesn't say we need to deliver truth harshly with bitterness attached. God's truth comes out of love, not judgment. Masking the truth doesn't give others what God intended them to hear. It doesn't feed them spiritually if they're not receiving truth. We need to be spiritually fed by God's truth to be able to hold onto it and live by it. 

        It goes back to condemning and convicting if it doesn't come with love intention that it wasn't God's intended truth. This doesn't mean that it will be sugar-coated either. Let's say it comes more out of Tough love, but tough love means you love someone so much that you don't want them to continue in sinful habits. God told truth even if He knew it would convict someone, but God always allows you with the knowledge that He has already forgiven you for it. So if He has forgiven you why does He bring the sinful habit to your attention? He does this out of love to show you that something you are doing is not aligning with God. He doesn't want us to be stuck in sinful habits that can damage His plans for us, and much less damage us. 

         Masking Truth can be damaging to others because they want to search for what is real but they aren't finding it from you. We don't just do this with biblical things but in our daily lives. Somedays we're worn down and just tired but we mask it with "I'm alright" or "Could be better." We're scared that if we're honest with others with how we're actually doing then we're burdening them with our struggles. I know I'm not the only one who has struggled with this mindset of "just tell them you're okay, and they won't ask" It is fear of being rejected for being authentic. Except you can't be truly authentic if you are lying about your state of mind. It is okay to not be okay and it's okay to tell others what's happening. We all struggle with things and we need to have friends who hold us accountable. We need accountability partners because when we're struggling with something, we become vulnerable to temptation from Satan. Suffering causes temptation to become louder, but when we are weak against temptation, God is strong. Choosing God over temptation is strength from God. Godly friends and even ungodly friends care about your well being, and if they don't then they aren't the uplifting people you need in life. If they aren't keeping you accountable then they aren't helping you keep yourself from giving in to temptation. The same goes for you as far as keeping your friends accountable to glorify God. Take off the mask and tell your friends and church family that you are struggling with something if you are.   

          Don't put a mask on it, don't lie to tell someone what you think they want to hear. Also, be the person who allows truth to be said towards them. It is okay to analyze it for real truth. It is okay to be silent and take it and then come back to it. It is okay to debate truth if something doesn't sit with you biblically, As long as it doesn't turn to slander. If it isn't the truth that you're hearing then you can show them the truth without shoving it down their throat. Don't be afraid of speaking truth to someone for fear of offending them. It offends them because they just got lovingly convicted and they're upset about it. Also, be mindful of the truth you need to speak and the truth you don't need to speak. Don't use the truth to be brutal to someone. If you wouldn't say it in a prayer to God, don't say it to a human being.

           Also, it's okay for someone to not accept God's truth, at that point it's between them and God. If you don't feel comfortable giving truth then pray that God will convict them Himself. Pray that they will be able to open their hearts of what they've done and can repent of any sinful habits to God. Speaking truth isn't always about telling others what they're doing wrong in the eyes of God. It's about allowing yourself to see what you're doing that's sinful. Being able to speak truth comes with being able to accept the truth. If God's truth isn't sitting with you then read the bible to see where the truth is implied. Break down God's truth for what God wants you to know. God's truth is for us to seek Him closely, truth is hard to grasp sometimes though. We often find ourselves in a spiral of doubting God. The truth will replenish our doubts and show us grace.  

           The biggest truthful thing we have the hardest time grasping is how deeply unconditional God's love is for us. We have a hard time grasping that God even loves us wholeheartedly. We think that we are unworthy of love, or that God can't love everything about us through all the dark and good. Just a big news flash God Loves You UNCONDITIONALLY. Nothing we do can stop Him from loving us, not saying we should do everything sinful or anything. We just need to grasp that God loves us without any strings attached. He understands that we are human and mess up. He loves us and gives us the truth without condemning us into thinking He's not forgiven us. It is true and we need to hold it near to our hearts. You are not unloved and you just have to allow yourself to believe that. Even as sinful as we are God chose to send Jesus to be a sin carrier so we didn't have to. God loved us so much that He turned His back on Jesus because He couldn't look at sin. If that doesn't explain God's unconditional love to us I don't know what does. Jesus suffered to give us eternity. God has a purpose for you and He loves you and always will. 

         Remember that speaking truth does not mean beating someone with it. Give it lovingly and out of a caring heart towards them. Sometimes truth that doesn’t want to be hear is needed to he heard. Allow yourself to learn God's truths so you can speak them. Allow yourself to open your heart to receive the truth that you need to hear. Don't hold yourself back from telling how you feel to others. Admitting that you are struggling is the first step to get back to God. It is okay to be out of sorts, God understands and others will too. Don't allow bitterness to be spoken out of your mouth. God doesn't speak bitterness so we shouldn't either. Lastly, love yourself and others and give grace the way that God has given to you.