Truth, you can't handle it.

Ash Wednesday 2013                                     Primary Scripture Psalm 51

 Truth!  You can’t handle the truth!   This famous line from the movie “A Few Good Men” is a poignant point in the movie and has become iconic and comical over the years but what is truth and would we know it if we saw it?

Our daily lives are filled with half-truths, little white lies, fibs and secrets-some relatively harmless it seems, maybe some scandalous.  We hide the truth all the time.  Ask any husband what the appropriate answer is to his wife’s question “does this dress make me look fat?”  Just in case you’re not sure- no matter what the truth is- the answer is always NO! 

People ask us how we are doing and we simply respond “fine” even if we feel exactly the opposite.  Maybe someone is asking you for a favor- Do you mind doing something for me?  Whether we really want to or not, most of the time the response is “sure”.  Maybe these are relatively harmless fibs.  They don’t really do anyone else harm- but sometimes our dishonesty does hurt us.  We feel lonely because we won’t admit we need company.  We feel taken advantage of when we just can’t seem to say “no” to our friends. 

Maybe we even lie to ourselves.  We convince ourselves that we don’t need help.  I can do it on my own.  We don’t want to burden someone else with our problems so we keep them secret.  We are afraid of what someone might say or think of us if we admitted what we were really thinking. We fear rejection- what if I ask for help and they say no or don’t want to be a part of my life anymore.  We don’t feel like our feelings of anger or inadequacy are legitimate so we stuff them away. 

We allow these things in our lives to weigh us down.  We all have baggage.  It is a part of life.  We name them different things- fear, shame, anger, disappointment, loneliness, doubt, illness.  We feel like these things are too heavy for anyone else to carry so we bear the burden alone.  We convince ourselves that we are strong enough to handle it. 

Sometimes we try to distract ourselves we stay busy so we don’t have to think about our problems.  We self-medicate with food or drugs.  We involve ourselves in unhealthy relationships; we talk about other people’s problems and blame others for the problems of the world- just so we don’t have to look in the mirror at ourselves. 

Truth, you can’t handle the truth so we lie, we ignore it, we pretend it’s not there we hide from it.

Psalm 51 reminds us multiple times that we cannot hide- from ourselves or God.  God can see our inner most heart.  God wants honesty, repentance, and for us to trust God with our baggage.  But first, we have to be honest with ourselves.

Lent is a time of personal reflection; a time to search our souls, a time of spring cleaning for our body, minds and spirits. It is a time to admit to ourselves and to God where we need help.  Be honest and open- these secrets not only harm us and our relationships with one another but they harm our relationship with God.  When we hide the truth we are telling God we don’t think God can handle it.  We are telling Jesus Christ that we don’t need his sacrifice, we don’t need the cross, we don’t need him. We are telling even more lies.   When the truth is God is the only one that can handle it.  Christ is the only way to wipe our slate clean, make our burdens lighter and he is willing to do it. 

Lent is not a time to give up trivial things like chocolate or soda just because you feel like you need to give up something.   It is about reflecting on those things that get in the way between you and God. It is about ridding your life of those things that separate you from the love of Christ and prevent you from being fully connected and trusting of him.

 It is about getting rid of the idols in our lives that we put in place of God.  Maybe it is food- instead of dealing with pain- you seek comfort in food- you want that glass of wine at the end of a hard day instead of time alone with God to distress.  Maybe it is the computer or television that distracts you and prevents you from putting quality time into prayer and meditating on the scriptures.  Maybe shopping or eating out puts strain on your finances and causes stress in your life.  Maybe God is calling you to take better care of your body- eat healthier, exercise more. 

Take this season of Lent as a time to be truthful with God and yourself.  Put your baggage at the foot of the cross, leave it at the alter.  Don’t let the crucifixion of Christ be in vein- trust him.  He already knows all your secrets and he loves you anyway- there is nothing you can do or say that will make God stop loving you.  It is a wonderful mystery that we cannot take for granted.  God simply wants us to recognize our own faults, break down the barriers that we put up to try and hide from God and humble ourselves at the foot of the cross- recognizing we need Christ, we need forgiveness and we need him to wash our sins away. 

Some research claims that is takes 30-40 repetitions of a new behavior to make it a habit.  Use these 40 days of Lent to start a new and healthy habit of prayer, meditation, journaling, or reading scripture.  Deepen and strengthen your relationship with God.  Start being honest with yourself and ask God to wash away your sins and guide you to a path of righteousness, love and honesty.

Truth- God can handle the truth- let him.