September 23
Scripture focus: What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry--but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. Ephesians 4:25-27 (The Message)
Frankly, when my friend began her recovery program it was strictly for selfish purposes. She was miserable. She hoped to feel better. At a minimum she wanted those pesky creditors to stop interrupting her while she watched Jeopardy.
Interestingly enough, if you talk to her about this process, she will get pretty excited and emotional. But when she tells the story, she doesn't really talk about the finances, unfaithfulness, or two divorces. The story she likes to tell is about how she's learned in a very real and practical way the value of Christ's body working as it should -- connected to each other.
She loves to talk about how her financial advisors offered both support and accountability. She openly confesses to anyone who'll listen her need for community, and how her team has really helped her do the next right thing.
I personally prefer the rest of the story.
Although she doesn't intentionally focus on her "issues," she doesn't shy away from them either. They have become useful illustrations for her "before" and "after" life. She loves to tell how she once tried so hard to please God and along the way ended up lying, cheating and stealing. She enjoys the part where she explains how hard it is to practice trusting God when all you want is for someone else to perk your coffee and serve it to you with a smile.
And as she tells these stories on herself, others are encouraged. Without the lies and pretense, people actually seek this new, improved, slightly impoverished but definitely responsible woman over the old model -- the one you couldn't trust your husband with unsupervised.
She may have lost her star status as a frequent customer at her favorite grill, but she has gained a community of friends who also lost their good reputations and ended up trusting God more as a result.
If you've lost your good reputation, I hope her story will encourage you. God has a reputation for restoring, renewing and transforming people like us who lose their way only to find God. May you draw nearer to God today as you trust him with the truth about you.
Recommended reading: Esther 4-6
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1 comment:
If you've lost my good reputation, if I ever had one. The problems I have now, especially with my finances, I have always had. But I can rest in knowing that there is help within my community and that help only came about when I told the truth to myself.
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