Psalm 51:7 --- "...wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

Matthew 5:23 --- "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother ..."

Wife: We heard about that in church today, so you better reconcile first.

Husband: You're not my brother, you're my wife!

Wife: I didn't marry no ignoramus ...you know it's referring to all Christians.

Husband: Okay, I'll give you that, but I'd also like to talk about what I have against you.

Wife: You'll give me that, you say? That's not the only thing you can give me! You can reconcile me with a new dress, then we'll talk.

Faye models her new dress at church on Sunday.

Faye:  Do you like my new dress?

Best friend: No, I think you have the worst taste in patterns, and you should never wear baggy clothes to cover your skinny body. Your dress looks like a flag on a flagpole, and when I first saw you today I felt I should put my hand over my heart ...thinking that I was going to hear a chorus of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Faye: Well, the only allegiance you have, my friend, is to food. The reason you put your hand to your heart is probably chest pain.  You eat so much, I fear the next song I hear will be 'The Day Thou Gaveth, Lord, Is Ended', as I look into your casket. 

Being transparent may be a lofty goal, thinking we can achieve more close relationships and at the same time cleanse our soul ...but, there is a healthy side and an unhealthy side by which we can look at this.

What does being transparent mean:

• Not being afraid to share in a group setting how God is teaching you and working in your life. And having close confidants ...that we can be open, and candid with.  Who can see any wrong in this?

• To air our dirty laundry and to share our major, even devastating, struggles with anyone and everyone. While many of us feel deep hurts, it makes us feel better about ourselves to know that other people's live are messed up too. Temporarily, this may make us feel better during the very difficult coping period after the event of hurt, but though it can help bring about positive action, it sometimes rallies negative feelings also.  

Telling others how God is using you and working in your life is a good thing ...and that is one way we glorify God.  We see singers and athletes often  not take credit for their talents or accomplishments ...but give the glory to God, thanking Him for their abilities.

So, if we know we can do nothing good without God, and we thank Him for it ...giving Him the credit, then who do we point to for the failures, or things that we do which are not good?

We can say that God will allow us to fail ...so we can learn and build character.  But, what about the things most of us consider as bad?

You are right, we do call that sin ...and we do all sin.

Sin is doing something against what God has asked us to do.  So, if God doesn't ask anything of us ...is there any sin?

Most of us say there was the first sin.  That would coincide with the first thing God had forbid.  Adam and Eve were to not eat the fruit of a certain tree.  How did they handle that?

They both ate it.

But, more was involved than just that.

Eve was told a lie, similar to the lies we are often told.  But, let's also look at how they faced it ...their degree of admission.


Admission can mean two rather different things.  It can be a statement acknowledging the truth of something.

Adam and Eve couldn't really deny what they had done ...but their admission was closer to the second definition, which is the process or fact of entering or being allowed to enter.  They entered into sin ...and how they continued to enter into it was rather significant.

Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent ...and the serpent continues to claim God is unfair.  This is the process that continues to rationalize wrongs that we continue to do ...though, for some reason we feel we are much better at hiding and rationalizing, thinking we don't even have to admit it is wrong.

Now, we can continue to blame the devil ...or we can can accept some responsibility for our choice.

I would think we can't entirely blame the devil ...because of that choice we do have.  And we have a choice just like the devil had ...yet, there is a big difference.  The devil could see God for absolutely who He is, and we have a mix of much confusion.

Yet, when we sort it out ...it is really rather simple.

And that's fairly much all we have to do ...sort it out.

There is the path God would have us go ...and there is the path the enemy would have us go.  And since the devil put himself in the position to be the primary one to oppose God ...we consider him the enemy.

There is a saying that, "We are our worst enemy."  And who could deny that from being true, since we have a best friend, who is all-powerful ...who we so often neglect to pay attention to.  

It is definitely a spiritual war that is going on, but it's like if an ostrich tried to outfly an eagle ...who do you think would win? It is even more ridiculous to think there could be a power greater than God ...so with those odds, we would be our own worst enemy to go against Him.

With us, the most power we have is with our choice.  If we choose God, we have power for us.  If we choose against God, we have power over us and against us.

So, our primary job is in sorting ...trying to sort the bad from the good.

There are certain thoughts that are presented even more subtly than when the serpent brought his intrigue to Eve.  And we too often acknowledge them, repeat them, give them root, and even embrace them.  So, before being blatantly open and honest, let's be honest with ourselves ...do we think God is bringing us to this moment to glorify Him?

Remember, part of the responsibility of adults is to know when it is proper to shelter their children ...and what to expose them to.  

We don't have a character like Jiminy Cricket to follow us around to remind us what to do, but neither would I say we have merely a conscience. We have a real Person ...the Holy Spirit to guide us.

It's not just your conscience that's saying, "Wake up!  Hel-l-l-o!"

You don't need to hide and pretend you don't know ...

There are those we say, "They have no conscience!" and we know the why and because ...

Of this or that, we say their conscience doesn't bother them, but we know it does.

Just telling it how I see it, if you ask why I'm so abrupt

We're not an innocent kitten, or a small adorable pup

We are intelligent enough people to know what's up

We show this to be true by our angry tone when it's brought up

Those tantrums and tirades only demonstrate after all that likely we're wrong

And perhaps I'm as bad at rationalizing, as I am with writing a poem or song

So let's abandon this rhyming and nonsensical imagination

And get back to a more healthy and proper translation

2 Corinthians 10:5, reads, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ ..."

Proverbs 17:9, reads, "He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends."

Proverbs 18:8,reads, "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

Proverbs 18:21, reads, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

Ephesians 4:29, reads, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."