Disclaimer: heavy sarcasm ahead. In case you missed the first post in this series, you’ll want to start there.
Antiaxiom #5: Hide your weaknesses.
Never be transparent. The only reason people want to know about the hurt and broken places inside of you is so that they can use those things against you. Because of that, you must hide these things at all cost.
Yes, this means that you must sometimes lie to protect yourself. Make sure that no one knows how often you have no idea what you’re doing. Otherwise, you’ll be taken captive by your naive trust in others.
This is Beth, not Ben and how true this is unfortunately. I have been experiencing this such thing with a close Church family of mine that thinks I am their daughter. What do you do, you don’t want to be rude or hurt them, but you also want to say, Please Butt Out sometimes, but nicely…
I think you should write a book, and put these in it. I have a friend who thinks this can be a fundamental reason why we don’t have church membership in alot of our churches any more. Cause if we are members somewhere, then we will have to be transparent. I don’t know what I believe about church membership yet, and for that matter, am not a member with any church. Maybe that’s why. The title could be something like, “the lies we believe.”
Cheers
BJL
Wow Kyle,
5 powerful antiaxioms. I love it, but it does hit a little close to home. Perhaps that is why I love it.
Nice job. Miss you guys a lot.
Jordan & James, thank you for the comments. I miss you guys a lot, and I think of you very often.
Ben & Beth, thanks for your candid thoughts, and I think you’re right about this being a lie we often believe. Although it is often challenging (more for some of us than others), we’re called into community with others. I came across this quote a few months ago, and I love it:
“Our life depends on being found. You cannot be fully loved if you are not fully known. Your life, and most importantly your relationship with God, hinges on whether you decide to be part of community.”
For the full post and link to the people who wrote this, go here http://kylegilbert.com/?p=77.