There’s a song out on the radio by Matthew West called “Truth be Told.” The song is a real upbeat song, but listening to the words, it’s also very cumbersome. All too often, when we go to church or we’re talking to others, when they ask you how you’re doing, often we’re quick to say “I’m fine, things are great,” or “life is good.” When, truth be told, things aren’t great under the surface. You’re so quick to show everyone there’s something else going on.
We’re so scared of letting people in to see the weight that we’re carrying. The Bible says in Galatians 6:2 that we are to, “carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ,” and in Matthew 22:39, it says that, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” How are we fulfilling those commands if we’re not being real with one another? Now, I’m not saying every single conversation should be a therapy session. I’m just saying that there needs to be someone that when they ask you how you’re doing, you don’t just smile and tell them “never better.”
We have to be real with one another. When we are sharing in each other’s burdens, or loving each other as ourselves, then that is a call for us to not hide who we really are. News flash! The Bible tells us who we are. We are evil apart from God. Romans 7 is very clear about this: apart from Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, and paying the cost that we could not, we are not good people. So let’s stop hiding that from each other. Let’s be real with one another when someone asks you how you’re doing, and say the truth. Tell that person, “you know, I’m really struggling with this,” or “life is really not that great.”
We were not meant to bear this burden alone. Furthermore, when someone shares their burden with you, how do you react? Are you a safe place for them? In order to love someone as yourself, you can’t see yourself as some high and mighty person who has it all together. We don’t have it all together. If we did, we wouldn’t need Jesus. We all have messes, we all have struggles. Even people who seem like they have it all together, have things that are going wrong in their lives. So don’t be so quick to cast judgment. Bear one another’s burdens and be a safe place for each other.
North Bullitt Christian Church 