So often we wish to present our best side, to put our best foot forward. This may be a good thing to do in a job interview, but it is not a good operating principle for Christian community. If we cover our failures and keep them from one another, we live a pretense. If we refuse to allow one another to see who we really are, “warts and all,” there can be no support, no encouragement, no accountability, and no forgiveness.
We may feel that confessing our flaws, our sins, and our shortcomings to the Lord is good enough. It is good, but Scripture challenges us to take the extra step toward transparency by being transparent to one another (James 5:16).
We are fooling ourselves to believe that we are free from tragic flaws. Only when we live in honest, burden-bearing fellowship with one another do we see what our worst flaws are. In this environment we have a loving community to help us see our sin and brokenness, and also to direct us toward wholeness.
