Heavenly Sunlight
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
When you hide what you're doing, something may be
very wrong.
Heavenly Sunlight
by Greg A. Tidwell
Once we received a flyer promoting a youth event
at a nearby congregation. While some of the
speakers were unfamiliar, nothing seemed wrong.
Later, however, a friend called to ask if I had
seen the unedited flyer. It turned out the
unfamiliar speakers were from denominational
churches, and identified as such by handouts
circulated in-house at the host congregation.
When I called to ask why we received an edited
version, the preacher who mailed out the flyer was
blunt in his reason. He knew if they fully
identified the speakers, our congregation would
not promote the event.
The Whole Truth
Duplicity, while appalling, has grown common among
our fellowship. Integrity, in contrast, was
central to the work of the church the apostle Paul
commended to a young evangelist:
Show yourself in all respects to be a model
of good works, and in your teaching show
integrity, dignity, and sound speech that
cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may
be put to shame, having nothing evil to say
about us. (Titus 2:7-8)
This was the standard Paul set for his own
ministry:
But we have renounced disgraceful,
underhanded ways. We refuse to practice
cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by
the open statement of the truth we would
commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in
the sight of God. (2 Cor. 4:2)
No dirt under the rug, no hidden agenda, nothing
of which to be ashamed -- an "open statement of
the truth" empowered Paul's work.
Nothing but the Truth
We must ask ourselves: are we permitting shady
practices and ominous teachings to hide in dark
corners of our fellowship? Not only must we keep
ourselves honest, we must be forthright in asking
honest questions of others and in demanding honest
answers.
Some problems facing the church spring directly
from a cover-up of error; many more spring from a
passive complicity in not exposing the problem.
"Sunlight," Justice Louis Brandeis once observed,
"is the best disinfectant."