We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
2 Corinthians 4:2 (The Message)

This is the way that I choose to live my life and the way that I choose to interact with other people — open and unashamed.  In that, I’ve noticed that many others do not live this way at all.  It’s my experience that many people will say one thing to your face and say something completely different when in the presence of other company.

Seriously, life is hard and complicated enough without adding the difficulty of having to respond to the guise of a truth.  I’d rather just deal with the truth itself.  No doubt, living life out in the open has it’s misgivings and I can imagine that many people deal with the feeling of being too vulnerable.

But here’s what we’re really dealing with, do we trust that God is in control or don’t we?  Because if we truly believe that God is in control and we are living a life submitted to Him, then what do we have to fear of the truth?  See, we only resort to the manipulation of others because we are trusting in ourselves.  And let’s face it, we realize that that’s not going to be good enough.  We know that in and of ourselves, we fall short.  So, to press on, we deceive.  We put on our masks and we jump through the hoops.  Then to add insult to injury, we find others who are willing to do the same and we isolate the ones who will not.

Can you imagine how much easier relationships would be if we simply removed our masks and spoke truth to one another?  What if we set aside our insecurities and believed that not everyone rejoices in our failures or shortcomings?  What if we just trusted God and believed that He alone holds our futures in His hands?  What if we truly loved another person more than we love ourselves?

Final thought…if you’re a leader, you absolutely must choose to live life this way.