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“Behavior is not always an accurate indicator of what’s going on inside.”

A thought from Andy Stanley (2009-08-22) from his book, It Came from Within!: The Shocking Truth of What Lurks in the Heart (p. 31). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

Some people are good at hiding what is happening on the inside.  They have done it so long.  Now if they are hiding it then it probably is a negative thing, something painful, or a type of guilt.  If it is good thing they probably don’t want to hide it.

I knew a friend who hid an evil practice behind a jovial personality.  Only a few people knew the truth.  He hid behind the façade of being a minister for many, many years.  And he fooled a lot of people, even members of his family.  Finally he was arrested and it all came out.

Some hide great emotional pain behind a smile or a fun loving personality.  It is their way of not dealing with it but it needs to come out to someone who can help with the healing of it.

A few years ago, Margaret, my wife started having a problem in swallowing.  My tendency would be to live with it and get used to living with it but she is a nurse and paid attention to it.  She finally asked for some help from a doctor and found that her thyroid was malignant.  She had cancer.  She could have ignored it and behaved as if there was nothing wrong but she would have potentially died from it.  So she had it surgically removed and then had radiation put through her body to kill the cancer.  She still takes medicine for it but is now cancer free.  She did something about something that was going on inside of her.       

Hiding the truth can many times kill you physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally.  Honesty is the first step in taking care of the inside.  It starts with you, then with God and then probably someone else.  But it needs to be taken care of. 

So are you hiding something?
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Comments

  1. AllonappsMarch 30, 2013 at 1:11 PM

    Sometimes you may have to hide not just because you don't want to deal with it, but rather you don't want others to deal with your struggles and pain, looking at it from another angle

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill WilliamsMarch 30, 2013 at 5:23 PM

    that can be true. now i do believe that GOD wants to deal with your struggle and your pain because HE went through it though Jesus so He understands and can make a difference. It can start with a personal relationship with Him.

    ReplyDelete

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