2 Corinthians 12: 9-10, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

My question for all of my Christian friends (myself included) is: Do we really believe that? Do we really believe that our weaknesses are truly just a way to show God’s strength? Do we boast gladly about our weaknesses so that others can see the power of Christ? Are we truly content with our weaknesses and all the other hardships we have to endure?

In my experience, we aren’t, and I think it’s time we move past the popular practice in Christian culture of hiding all of our weaknesses to seem perfect. When we bottle all of our problems and our shortcomings, we miss the opportunity to have the power of Christ rest upon us. When we pretend to be perfect every Sunday morning, we miss the opportunity to share with fellow Christians who would understand our plights. When we are not honest with other Christians about our weaknesses, we miss the opportunity for an open, accepting, and gospel-centered community.

I am as guilty of this as anyone. I was raised to keep your business private, to put on a smile and to act like you were OK until you were. However, when we come into church like the fake, smiley plastic people we’ve been told to be, we miss the true fellowship that occurs with being open and being accepted by our fellow church members. I am a sinner. I mess up all the time. I need God’s grace constantly, and no matter how great of an actress I am, none of that was a surprise to anyone reading this. We all know that no one is perfect, so why do we insist on acting like we are?

The truth is, some of the most powerful encounters I’ve had with God have come huddled on the floor crying with Christians I trust to counsel me. With God, sometimes we have to be broken before He can really work in our lives the way He’d like to. We rationalize our behavior and hold inside how we are hurting, but the truth is that our churches need more broken people so that God can begin to heal us. If we pretend that there’s nothing wrong with us, it makes it rather difficult for the heavenly physician to heal our ailments.

This week, I’d just like to encourage you (whoever you may be) to be open and honest with the people in your small group, Sunday school class, or Bible study. Get real with each other, and see how the Lord pieces us back together when we stop pretending that we have it all together.