The Truth about Transparency

I dressed-up as Santa and entertained residents, staff, and guests at a

healthcare facility recently. It was a blast. The children who came were precious. One little girl gave me a note with her requests.

The best part was telling corny Christmas jokes as Santa Claus. “Then Rudolf said, you sleigh me Santa…ho-ho-HO!!” The bad part was that I began to lose my voice after a couple of hours. That laugh wears out the vocal chords….LOL

At another event, I wore a Chewbacca costume in July. Wearing fur in 95 degree temperatures is a tough gig. I probably lost 20 pounds just through sweating. It was a lot of fun though. I was the center of a lot of photos and some real joy from adults and children alike.

Wearing a Mask?

The sad thing is that while these kinds of events are fun, a lot of people go their entire lives behind a mask. A facade of sorts. They pretend to be happy, successful, content, etc. Yet, in their quiet moments, they are just the opposite.

Christians are often the most guilty of this. We THINK we have to appear to have it all together in order to be a good example, etc. We pretend to be what we think we SHOULD be, even if the facts suggest something quite different.

The irony is that this front we put on actually has the opposite effect. Instead of helping people draw close to God, it pushes them away because they either feel that they'll never measure up to our false persona OR, they realize that we're not being sincere. They know its a rouse.

Transparency Works!

Over the years, I've found that being honest about my struggles and failures can actually help me share the gospel. Transparency helps people connect with me personally as well since they realize that we have these challenges in common. In brief, transparency works!

So, the next time you think you need to be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Santa Claus or even Chewbacca--DON'T. Chose to be you--blemishes and all. It might just allow you to develop some authentic friendships. And some of those could even last for eternity!

To that end,

Pastor Joel