Transperency

In the last Youth Group meeting I had at my church, we had an extended time of prayer near the end. Teens prayed in groups of 3-4 for various things. We prayed for humbleness, wisdom and transparency.

Transparency means being unashamedly open with your life to those you can trust around you. As young adults develop a private life, like young adults should, they tend to keep things private that they should not. We keep situations from our parents, teachers and church leaders. It is so easy in this day and age to keep things silent. We have our own phones with text messaging, so we can have conversations that last hours, right under our parents nose. Facebook and/or e-mail is a huge opportunity to have entire relationships kept secret from the view of our authorities. We spend more and more time outside the house as we get older, which gives more opportunity to the devil to work his mischief.


When we have things that go unknown to the wiser authority in our lives, a problem can build up very fast. Some teens are afraid to tell their parents for lack of trust in thier relationship, and I can understand, but that is no excuse for us not to be honest with them.

I am sure most of us can think back to our past at one or two situations or events that went sour because the proper people and advise were not sought out after.

Mark 4:22
For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.

Everything should be brought to light. There should be no secret between you and God, and between you and your parents. No situation is ugly, and private enough that it should not be brought to the attention of the older and wiser among you.

Psalm 32:3-5


When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

When we hide things from God, and others around us, it creates a false image. Life is so much easier when we can be honest and frank with our friends and family. A lack of confession will only hurt us. In my opinion, it is so much easier to confess my sins to God than it is to confess my sin to friends and family, but that is were God tests us. Are we trying to keep an image? What are we trying to save? Being transparent will set us free from the pressure of trying to have a false image toward our parents friend, and, as silly it sounds, God.

Hope I left you all with a few thoughts!

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

-Jerry :)