Honesty about our inner feelings, idiosyncrasies, and short-comings, I find, is one of the best ways of dealing with our inbred insecurities. These are not sins, but faults. And James tells us to, “Confess your fault one to another.” Christian or non-Christian, you will find mature people are generally “generous to a fault.” That is, toward those who do not try to “whitewash” their failings. But I find most folks have a difficult time being tolerant and forgiving with hypocrisy.
Openness and sincerity about one’s flaws are characteristic of a person of great strength, a person strong enough to face their imperfections. Any individual on the receiving end of such confessions, who would abuse and misuse such trust, would be considered “wicked,” in the true Biblical sense of the word. Paul was not afraid for people to see his blemishes. He wanted them to always be conscious of his humanity, “lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me [to be], or [that] he heareth of me.”
Once a person sees and admits to their own frail humanity, it is not difficult to be longsuffering with others in the same ship. It is the pseudo superman or woman who is intolerant with the poor and needy in spirit. This type denigrate the others’ humanness. But as C.S. Lewis says, “God knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive.” It is well to remember that when others do not accept or understand our fragile conditions, Christ does. That is one reason He came. He walked in our shoes; He grew tired, was thirsty, and felt pain.
Jeremiah said, “I sat where they sat.” That’s a good place to sit!
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