AMY SANTARELLI |GUEST
Nothing to fear. Nothing to prove. Nothing to hide.
Nothing to fear. Nothing to prove. Nothing to hide.
I kept repeating the words to myself as I sat down to lead our women’s Bible study. I had determined that night to share some things on my heart that were not easy to share. They were revealing.
We were studying the process of biblical change using a booklet1 I often use as a biblical counselor. I was excited about sharing this great little treasure with my fellow women. But then came the conviction.
In preparation, I was scanning the booklet’s section on repentance and when I read, not for the first time, that true repentance means actual turning from former ways, that is when the conviction struck. I recalled that many times lately, I had confessed to God and asked forgiveness for habitually staying up too late and then sleeping in too long. I complained in my heart about not having enough time to do things, and yet I was on my phone so much. And then there was the control that food often had over me. I was running to things other than Christ. This was not the first time I had felt this conviction.
Here I was, a biblical counselor, helping others with their problems, and yet I was struggling, too. Should I share this with the women at the study? The study I was leading? What would they think of me? Or should I push through, pretending to be someone I was not? I stayed with my conviction to confess these things from my heart.
The Scary Part
That night at Bible study as I revealed my own struggles, the room was silent. Everyone went quiet, a circle of blank faces just staring back at me. Gulp. All the thoughts began running through my head of all the things I imagined they were thinking about me. But I plunged on, reminding myself that if God was pleased with me, it didn’t matter what everyone was thinking. Plus, I didn’t really know what they were thinking, right?
That night as I drove home with my daughter, I told her how I felt like everyone was quietly judging me when I was transparent.
“Oh, Mom. We weren’t quiet because we were judging you! We were quiet because we were thinking how we do the same thing.”
The Shift
In God’s grace, a friend later pointed back to that time as the beginning of a shift in the relationships in our Bible study. Women now share more openly about struggles. We don’t always act like we have it all together. We confess our sins and share more from our hearts. It’s a beautiful thing.
The conviction to move toward transparency came after consuming multiple articles and podcasts by biblical counselor Rick Thomas on the fear of man.
Here are some concepts that jumped out at me from his work. If we are imperfect, and we know we are imperfect, and everyone else knows we are imperfect, being imperfect themselves, it is delusional to act otherwise.2 Delusional! That’s a strong word. But it means to have a false idea or belief. Why do we act as if we have it all together when the Bible and our own experience declare the very opposite? Referencing Galatians 5, Rick Thomas says this: “Christians have nothing to fear. We have nothing to protect. We have nothing to hide… We are the most liberated people on earth.”3
Living in Liberation
We have Christ’s righteousness and no longer must prove ourselves acceptable through works. Why then do we submit to a yoke of slavery? I do not need to prove, promote, or protect my image—Christ has made a new one for me! He has made me acceptable to God and is working on my sanctification.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (I Pet. 2:29)
If someone sees my flaws, I can acknowledge and turn from them, not cover or hide them. How silly is that to cover them when we all know they are there? Thomas says it like this: “When the only opinion in the room that matters to you is the Lord’s, you are as free as you can possibly be.” 4
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10)
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” (Prov. 29:25)
What am I now safe and free in Christ to do? I’m free to love others without fear. Free to stop promoting myself and to make the Lord prominent instead. Free to rest in who Christ says I am and not in myself or what others say or think of me. Recognizing I am an imperfect person with nothing to prove, helps me be open, honest, and humble. I can fire my inner lawyer. I am secure.
I can relax around others. I can acknowledge and repent of sin. Being fully loved, I can move toward others without fear. Can you, resting securely in God’s love and approval of you in Christ, take a step toward transparency with others? Yes, it can be scary. But remember…
Nothing to fear. Nothing to prove. Nothing to hide.
1 Julie Ganschow, The Process of Biblical Change. (Kansas City, MO: Pure Water Press, 2017)
2, 3 Rick Thomas, “How to Help a Person Who is Stuck on Herself,” Life Over Coffee, https://lifeovercoffee.com/how-do-you-help-a-person-who-is-stuck-on-herself/
4 Rick Thomas, “A Practical Plan to Break Free From Being Controlled by Others,” Life Over Coffee, https://lifeovercoffee.com/a-practical-plan-to-break-free-from-being-controlled-by-peoples-opinions/
Photo by Meredith Spencer on Unsplash
