“HONESTY – Talking to Myself”
We see the second ingredient (Brutal Honesty) of AHA in Luke 15:17: “He said to himself…”
There was no one else around. It was just him and the pigs. Sometimes the hardest conversation to have is the one you have with yourself. Brutal honesty begins when we look in the mirror and speak the truth about what we see. AHA requires you to tell the truth about yourself to yourself.
The Prodigal Son was honest with himself about what he deserved. That kind of honesty is difficult. We’d prefer the awakening without the brutal honesty.
Like the wife who wakes up to her critical spirit but refuses to say, “I have been wrong to be so negative. I know my husband needs my encouragement and support, but I’ve just complained and criticized.”
Like the husband who realizes his sexual sin but refuses to say, “My pornography problem has created a wedge in my marriage and has hardened my heart toward my wife.”
Avoiding brutal honesty will short-circuit lasting change. When there is recognition without repentance, AHA doesn’t happen. When the Prodigal Son came to his senses, he dealt with himself truthfully. The awakening must lead to honesty. Conviction must lead to confession.
After all, our heavenly Father sees and knows all, so it’s not a question of getting caught. The honesty I’m talking about is more than a simple acknowledgement; it is a kind of brokenness. Yes, you tell the person who caught you that you are sorry, but you must go beyond that. In an honest moment when no one else is around, you must tell yourself the truth about yourself and know that you are sorry.
That’s the difference between regret and repentance.
Read Luke 15:17-19.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
Read Hebrews 4:13.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Have you followed up an awakening by being brutally honest with yourself? Are you honest enough with yourself to see your brokenness and how it displeases God?
