Honoring the truth, even when it’s not what we want

Reflection:

Humans have human urges, human desires.

“Good people” pretend not to have these urges, these desires… at least not when those desires or urges aren’t (somehow) appropriate.

I remember my grandmother swearing up and down that the back was her favorite piece of the chicken.  Why didn’t she eat that bit of chicken when only two people were sharing the bird, not six?  Oh, because she was being polite.  (And lying; sorry, Grandma).

We do that a lot – okay, I do that a lot.  Not with chicken.  But with other things.  “Oh, I can’t have that?  Oh, never mind, I didn’t really want it.  No importance atall.  I’m perfectly fine over here.”

We do that as Christians.  We see that God has put a block between us and something we want… and we pretend that we didn’t want it.  I’m not talking about sinful stuff.  How about the person looking for a spouse who just can’t find one?  How about the couple struggling with infertility?  How about the hardworking person looking for a good job?  How about the …. well, there are plenty of examples.

Sometimes we want stuff.  Good stuff.  And God says no.  Just because we accept His timing, His will – because He loves us and knows best and has an eternal plan, in which we eagerly accept our place – it doesn’t mean that our desires don’t exist.

I think it’s better to say, “yes, I want this.  God knows that, and I’m trusting Him” than to pretend that we aren’t humans, with all the wants that humans have.  If nothing else, being honest about the things that we want will keep us humble, as we look ourselves in the face and acknowledge our dependence on our Creator.

Covering up leads to hypocrisy.  Let’s just be honest – sometimes we want.

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