"And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden."
Genesis 3:8
After failing to obey the one commandment God had given them, Adam and Eve resorted to hiding. They felt ashamed because they were exposed and had been found out. Today, not much has changed from the first fall in the beginning. Sometimes in our fear and shame, our instinct is to hide our sin and keep it out of sight.
Being transparent is difficult to do sometimes. Left to our own, we would rather keep secrets, hide weaknesses and fail to mention struggles. People who are afraid and ashamed sometimes pretend to be fine even when they're not. They portray themselves as better than they really are. To them being transparent would only display weakness.
Transparency, however, is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. If there's anything the church needs more of today, it's authenticity not perfection. We already have enough perfection in Christ and He doesn't expect us to add to it. He instead expects us to add authenticity to the pool.
Authenticity and transparency are what bring healing to the life of a person. We don't have to fake it to make it. James 5:16 tells us, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
There is power in confessing weakness and even sin issues to a person or group of people you trust. What starts as humble transparency will turn into effective accountability. Transparency says that we cannot face problems alone and need the help of like-minded believers to brave life's challenges and struggles.
But even more important than confessing sins to others, we must learn to openly confess our sins to God. Sometimes we might try to hide our sin and weakness because we think God might become disappointed with us. But God has already seen you at your worst and chose to love you still. 1 John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
There is power in transparency and confession and to live that route is to live in strength - a strength that comes not from our own selves but one that comes from the Spirit of God. When we are honest about our weaknesses and shortcomings, Christ shows Himself to be perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9).
There's nothing to hide in God's presence. He desires to see all of us - the good, the bad and the ugly - and promises to love us regardless. He doesn't just stop with that but also brings lasting and complete change as well as we continue to walk in the strength of transparency.
