The Direction of Honesty

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”

Even the night shall be light about me;

Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 139:7-16

Speak to one's face not into one's ear.

Speaking into one’s ear creates a context of secrecy (whether intentional or unintentional). We cannot have any secrecy with God (Adam and Eve tried but failed). Clear communication leaves nothing hidden as we are before God. We reveal what we think and believe through our words, but, more often than not, our face reveals who we are more than our words can. We were made in secret as God knit us together in our mother’s womb, but we aren’t supposed to remain in secret. We move into a deep, true relationship with others as we move from secrecy to openness, speaking fully and clearly to one another.

Don't be mindful if you aren't willing to be heartfull.

Putting on the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5-6, Philippians 2:5) is part of the ongoing process of transforming our minds (Romans 12:2), but it isn’t meant to be done alone. An integral part of understanding a problem is doing something about it. It's been said that vision without action is a daydream and action without vision is a nightmare. As we inform our minds, we have to inform our actions too. To have a working sink, we have to know why it’s broken, know how to fix it, and we have to decide to go through the work of fixing it. Being mindful of a problem and mindful of the solution doesn’t do us any good if we don't have a heart-filled response of action.

You cannot face two directions at the same time.

Once we start walking in one direction, everything else falls behind us. Many times, obedience precedes feelings and understanding. Once we face a direction in life and begin moving in that direction, we start to understand how the whole system works together. When we engage in life, we make the things we think are important become important as we work to make our dreams a reality. As our reality becomes more recognizable, we are able to be mindful and heartful by being honest about who we are and what we do. Face the direction of honesty and walk out of the secrecy that leads to deception.