Make Me Honest
Reading: Luke 18:9-14
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Once your mind and heart are open and eager, you can learn to be honest with yourself. Most of us tend to dramatize ourselves and to see ourselves as little short of perfection. We have a society based on flatter, half-truths, and “little white lies.” Children’s blunt honesty can be disconcerting, as well as refreshing.
In Hans Christian Andersen’s story of the emperor and his new clothes, it is a child who speaks the truth and destroys the web of lies which have been told and believed. Children get to the heart of the matter. They will not accept glib excuses.
Those who want to enter the Kingdom of God can come with no illusions about their own perfection and importance. We must have the courage to face the truth about ourselves, and the willingness to acknowledge our weakness, selfishness, and failure. We must be honest about our motives, willing to take responsibility for our mistakes, and quick to recognize that nothing we accomplish is done without the help of someone else. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
For Reflection: What excuses help me hide from the truth about myself?
A Prayer Seed:
On Thy grace I rest my plea;
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within,
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.
The Psalter, 1912
