What are you hiding from?

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

What are you hiding from?


We all do it. Some of us are brave and admit to it and others deny it even to themselves. But we all do it. We all hide from something.

We hide behind labels such as athlete, former athlete, cheerleader, brainiac, etc. We hide behind roles such as parent, boss, pastor, senator, teacher, guard, etc. We hide behind attributes such as intellect, wisdom, ability level, faith, etc.

How do we hide? Let me give a few examples. Consider the athlete/cheerleader that downplays his/her intelligence so he/she can fit the stereotypical jock/cheerleader role. Or the pastor/christian that preaches/talks one thing on Sunday and does another the other six days of the week? Or the senator that makes promises on the way up but doen't fulfill them because others or "the position" won't allow it. We could go on and on...

Why do we hide? I don't know. I think it's different for each person. However, I believe that at the core of it is fear. Fear of being different, fear of failure, fear of not being perfect, fear of... It all comes down to fear.

Does it matter? Yes, I believe it does. God has called each one of us to represent Him here on earth. If we are hiding (from fear), then we are not representing Him. There are many scriptures that would fit here, but let's look at Philippians 1:27. It says, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." (NIV) I added the bold and underline to bring out the point, we are to conduct ourselves in a specific manner; worthy of Christ.

How do we stop hiding? Well, I don't have all the answers. But I think we first have to stop hiding behind our labels, roles, and attributes. Second, we have to apologize to those we know we have hurt. Third, we must move on boldly and live our life for the Lord. No more hiding...no more allowing fear to rule who we are. We must allow our lives to demonstrate an outward state of an inward change.

Here's to living our lives out in the open for Christ!