Heart Attitude No. 2

I will live an open and honest lifestyle.

Ever spend time with someone who was a bit too open and honest - too much information? How do you stop them? It's AWKWARD! Which makes me wonder, What’s the open and honest limit? How much is too much?

Ever lie? Yeah, you lie lots.

Sometimes we lie nice. Truth is, we are more concerned with being liked then being nice. We say, “I don’t care where we eat. You haven’t aged a bit. No, I didn’t see that cheese hanging from your chin all night...” We aren’t open, we aren’t honest. I'm not even sure we are being nice.

Sometimes we lie mean. Often it's by our silence. We’re so concerned with being liked that we allow our friends to sink into sin without warning. James says “If someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” James 5:19-20 nlt.

Is it open and honest to stay silent when a friend is slipping into sin? How about if they aren’t a friend? What if the sin is gambling that's breaking the family finances? Drinking? Sleeping around and the spouse doesn't know it? Anger? Gossip? What’s the limit? What if they react badly? Is it worth it? Ezekiel has some scary words on the topic in Chapter 3 verses 16-21. God says “If you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.” Wow. But… I want to be liked. How about you?

Dan