Read:  I Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 1:10

Think:  I can remember when I was a young girl and would taunt my friends with the words, “I’ve got a secret, I’ve got a secret”.  Of course that made everyone want to know what it was.  And wasn’t that the point—to get their attention, to make myself feel important?  Thankfully those days and those types of behavior are gone from my life.  I try to lead my life as an open book, not ashamed of who I am, what I used to be or what God is doing in me.  But then there are the times like over the last month when I found myself reverting to behaviors that I wouldn’t normally participate in.  It was nothing evil or inherently bad, but it was against the standard that I have set for myself as a follower of Christ. 

We invited a foreign exchange student into our home for a return visit this summer.  As part of our nightly routine, we would watch movies as a family.  He is a big cinema buff and eagerly picked out the movies.  It surprised me that many of these were pretty edgy and used more than a little ‘colorful‘ language…  Apparently these kinds of movies have been readily available to him from an early age and he wasn’t even aware how they might offend.  One night he suggested that we watch one of his all-time favorite movies and as we started to watch the explicit language and over the top violence made me really uncomfortable.  Our host son insisted that the movie would get better—and it eventually did have a redemptive ending.  But instead of just walking out of the room, I reluctantly chose to stay throughout.  Granted he did graciously warn me of the violent scenes so I could close my eyes.  I even made a game of it by gently hitting him every time foul language was used. There were a lot of “hits” that evening.

What is interesting to me about this is how quickly I can give in to someone else’s moral standards and not stand up to my own. This goes back to that wanting to be liked—like I did as a little girl.  I didn’t want this young man to think that I was ‘a prude’.  I was more concerned with what he thought of me than pleasing God.  (Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10 NIV)

When we were saying our goodbyes to our host son, he mentioned one last movie that we rented and hadn’t watched.  It was another over the top movie.  That is when I whispered in his ear, “I’ve got a secret.”  Then I paused and said, “I already returned it.”  He understood perfectly and smiled.  He agreed to still send his movie recommendations.  I agreed to research whatever he recommends and not to compromise what I think is best for me and my family.  As Pastor Ben mentioned in his sermon, confession allowed him (our host son) to love and accept the real me.  It was freeing for me and in the process I got to plant some seeds of righteousness in him.

Do:  Be on the lookout for times in your life when you are likely to make a choice again your standards.  Talk about it with trusted friends who can support you in changing your behavior.  Don’t BE ‘a secret’.

Pray:  Father, help us to put pleasing you ahead of our desires to please man.  Give us the courage to stand up for what we know is right and not to worry about what others may think. Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.