“How’s it going?”
We often ask each other that question but it is rather rare that someone answers it with candor.
Maybe it’s because we are too busy and just throw it off as a passing phrase.
Maybe it’s because we tend to ask it without genuine concern.
Sometimes it’s because the person we ask does not feel like being vulnerable and, instead, avoids the honest answer.
Yesterday I got several clear, candid answers.
We were able to speak about how things are really going.
For this I am very thankful.
My emphasis on these first two Sundays of the new year has been pretty straightforward. The areas of practical application being emphasized are the ones in which we all admit we need improvement.
Go ahead and open up with a family member, a friend, or a pastor about how it is going in the areas we have been discussing.
I love how this Pastor talked about being transparent to his congregation about 800 years ago.
As truth is immortal, so a lie lasts not; feigned things are soon discovered, as the hair that is combed and set with great diligence is ruffled with a little blast of wind. The craftiest lie cannot stand before the truth; everything that is covered is soon uncovered; shadows pass away; and the native color of things remains. No man can live long under water; he must needs come forth and shew the face which he concealed. – Petrarch