{"id":759,"date":"2024-07-02T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/?p=759"},"modified":"2024-06-29T09:13:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T16:13:39","slug":"the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Adam & Even Hiding In Eden Image by Karen .t<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.<\/p>\n

• \nWe\u2019re all broken.<\/span><\/li>\nWe all fail.<\/li>\nWe all cheat.<\/li>\nWe all lie.<\/li>\nWe all pretend.<\/li>\n

• We all say one thing and do another.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
  
  All<\/em> of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n
  
  Of course, we don\u2019t always fail, and we might even go an hour or two without sinning, but something eventually betrays our new and true identity as children of God. <\/span>Admit it or not, we blow it every <\/em>stinkin\u2019 day. Our performance often falls short, whether it\u2019s an unholy thought, a lustful look, or an unkind word. We regularly do something foolish that misses the mark of perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n
  
  What\u2019s worse (and a bit crazy) is we still think we\u2019re better than others. Our self-talk says, Okay, I might not be as good as Bill Graham, but I\u2019m better than my sex-addict brother. I\u2019m probably never going to be as perfect as Mother Teresa, but at least I\u2019m not as messed up as that adulterer at work.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

  But we\u2019re no longer naked and unashamed in Eden.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n Image by WikiImages<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*** ** None of us is perfect. Not. One. Of. Us.<\/span><\/p>\n ** In truth, we\u2019re all hiding something and still trying to cover our sin rather than own it.<\/span><\/p>\n ** As a Christ-follower, and because of what Jesus did on the cross, I don\u2019t live bound by sin or trapped in hopelessness. I am a new creature in Christ. I am perfect in my position <\/em>before<\/em><\/span> God. <\/span><\/p>\n ** However, I am still far from perfect in my practice <\/em>and <\/em><\/span>day-to-day experience. I have a long way to go, and so do you.<\/span><\/p>\n ** ***Yes, we\u2019re in a new Eden now\u2014in a perfect relational place with God because of Jesus\u2019 sacrifice. However, we still fail and then hide and pretend to be what we are not.<\/span><\/p>\n So, what should we do? How should we live?<\/strong><\/h2>\n***** ** *****Well, here\u2019s a radical idea: Stop hiding.<\/span><\/p>\n If we all <\/em>still sin (and we all do), why wouldn\u2019t we step out of the darkness, own it, and confess our brokenness to one another? Why hide in the shadows when we can live free in the light? James, Jesus\u2019 half-brother, said that confession is the path to healing (James 5:16<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, if we all<\/em> are still broken (and we are), why would we ever treat anyone like we are better than them? Why would we cast stones at others? And why do we get so irritated when someone lets us down as if we\u2019ve never done the same or worse to many others?<\/span><\/p>\n Keith Giles<\/span><\/a> asks another critical question: \u201cDo we keep ourselves walled off from others because we don\u2019t trust that we will be loved if people really knew all about us?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If you spot it, you got it!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n******* ** I had lunch with a friend some time ago. As we talked, it dawned on me that this guy had disappointed and failed me multiple times. Of course, he was probably thinking the same about me! The worst things I see in others are sometimes true about me. But during our conversation, I had an aha moment<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n ** Jesus said, \u201cLove one another as I have loved you<\/em>\u201d (John 15:12).<\/span><\/p>\n ** For decades, I\u2019ve read that passage and stressed the importance of loving as Jesus loved: serving, caring, dying, being the bigger person . . . being like Jesus in my actions.<\/span><\/p>\n ** *******But what hit me in the face like a snowball out of nowhere is the context of this passage. Jesus said, \u201cAs I have loved you<\/em>,\u201d and the you<\/em> (i.e., people) Jesus was speaking to in that text were a bunch of screwups. <\/span><\/p>\n \nTraitors like Judas who loved money more than Jesus. <\/span><\/li>\nScrewups like a couple of brothers who were constantly jockeying for power and position. <\/span><\/li>\n The ultimate betrayer, Peter, also regularly stepped in a pile of manure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n******* ** *******Jesus was saying, \u201cLove others who are imperfect. Love others who will fail you. Love others who let you down. Love others who are prone to failure and sin. Love the same way I loved you<\/em> recovering idiots with a love not based on perfection or performance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Hiding in Shame******* *******Image by Petra<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n******* ** Years later, Peter would write, \u201cAbove all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins\u201d (1 Peter 4:8). Whose sins? Yours and mine. Peter knew.<\/span><\/p>\n ** Of course, we want to be like <\/em>Jesus in our character<\/em>, but that means we get to love those whom Jesus loves\u2014the messed up and broken. We don\u2019t simply acknowledge imperfections; we choose to love others regardless of their glaring inadequacies. (Please read that last sentence one more time.)<\/span><\/p>\n ** If I haven\u2019t already done so, at some point in the not-too-distant future, I will fail you (again). I will disappoint you (again). And by the way, the same is true about you.<\/span><\/p>\n ** We can get stuck in our disappointment, wallow in our frustration or love.<\/span><\/p>\n ** Apparently, God knew we would all struggle with sin, fail each other, and wound each other far too regularly. <\/span><\/p>\n ** Nevertheless, He calls us to love even when\u2014especially when<\/em>\u2014we hurt and disappoint one another.<\/span><\/p>\n ** *******To love someone as Jesus loves us is to embrace the wrecked and say, \u201cI love you, warts, wrinkles, failures, and all. And I will accept you the same way I am loved and accepted by the Father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I like what Crystal Raypole wrote in Healthline<\/a>, \u201cYou don\u2019t base your love on what someone does for you in return (i.e., their performance). You simply love them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n To be clear, we should grow. We need to mature. We must get better. And our humanness can never be used as an excuse to rationalize or justify any sin against another. Of course, sin matters.<\/span><\/p>\n Love One Another******* *******Image by Photo Mix<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n******* ** But love matters more.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n ** Why? <\/span><\/p>\n ** \n Because without love, nothing changes, and no one grows.<\/span><\/li>\n Without love, there is no hope of maintaining a lasting relationship with anyone.<\/span><\/li>\n ** Without love, we might as well give up on people now who will eventually let us down.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n ** As another guy who was far from perfect once wrote, \u201cLet <\/span>all <\/span><\/em>you do be done in love\u201d (1 Corinthians 16:14). <\/span>Sadly,<\/span> when some of us hear the word <\/span>love<\/span><\/em>, we hear blah, blah, blah. (If you\u2019re still reading this article, I applaud you.) Nonetheless, love must be greater than other people\u2019s undeniable brokenness and indisputable failures. Let love transcend your hurts. Find someone who has failed you (it won\u2019t be hard), look them in the eye, and say, \u201cYou matter to me no matter what.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ** Bear with each other\u00a0and forgive one another<\/h3>\n ** if any of you has a grievance against someone.<\/span><\/h3>\n ** Forgive as the Lord forgave you.<\/span><\/h3>\n ** And over all these virtues put on love.<\/span><\/h3>\n ** Colossians 3:13-14\u00a0(NIV)<\/span><\/h3>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** *******Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus. We\u2019re all broken. We all fail. We all cheat. We all lie. We all pretend. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5564,"featured_media":768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,47,26,122],"tags":[267,261,53,95,258,264],"class_list":["post-759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotional-relational-health","category-forgiveness-restoration","category-guilt-shame","category-insights-on-being-human","tag-acceptance","tag-failure","tag-forgiveness","tag-love","tag-love-one-another","tag-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relationship Matters!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-02T12:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-29T16:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2252\/2024\/06\/Adam-Eve-flee-from-god-8728247_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"731\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kurt W. Bubna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kurt W. Bubna\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/\",\"name\":\"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-02T12:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-29T16:13:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/6205449c1a5921f5625a6a7e47252acb\"},\"description\":\"Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/\",\"name\":\"Relationship Matters!\",\"description\":\"Renovating Health & Hope in a Changing World\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/6205449c1a5921f5625a6a7e47252acb\",\"name\":\"Kurt W. Bubna\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5811d58b4cda6a670369b6e092810449?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5811d58b4cda6a670369b6e092810449?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kurt W. Bubna\"},\"description\":\"Kurt Bubna is a grace-soaked storyteller, cancer survivor, and self-proclaimed recovering idiot who writes and speaks with raw honesty, quirky humor, and unshakable hope. With compassion in one hand and a sarcastic grin in the other, he tackles life\u2019s messiest moments\u2014from divorce and disappointment to faith and forgiveness\u2014always pointing back to the relentless love of God. A former pastor turned author and writing coach, Kurt is passionate about helping others write\u2014and live\u2014their redemptive story. Whether he\u2019s mentoring writers, crafting hope-filled articles and books, or navigating his own chaos, he believes every setback is a setup for grace. He lives in the High Desert of Central Oregon with his wife, Katherine, a few well-worn cowboy boots, and a heart that beats for second chances. \u201cStill standing. Still laughing. Still writing. Still growing\u2026 By grace alone.\u201d\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/author\/kbubna\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans","description":"Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans","og_description":"Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/","og_site_name":"Relationship Matters!","article_published_time":"2024-07-02T12:00:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-29T16:13:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":731,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2252\/2024\/06\/Adam-Eve-flee-from-god-8728247_1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kurt W. Bubna","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kurt W. Bubna","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/","name":"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-02T12:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-29T16:13:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/6205449c1a5921f5625a6a7e47252acb"},"description":"Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/2024\/07\/the-unmasked-and-naked-truth-about-humans\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Unmasked And Naked Truth About Humans"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/","name":"Relationship Matters!","description":"Renovating Health & Hope in a Changing World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/6205449c1a5921f5625a6a7e47252acb","name":"Kurt W. Bubna","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5811d58b4cda6a670369b6e092810449?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5811d58b4cda6a670369b6e092810449?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Kurt W. Bubna"},"description":"Kurt Bubna is a grace-soaked storyteller, cancer survivor, and self-proclaimed recovering idiot who writes and speaks with raw honesty, quirky humor, and unshakable hope. With compassion in one hand and a sarcastic grin in the other, he tackles life\u2019s messiest moments\u2014from divorce and disappointment to faith and forgiveness\u2014always pointing back to the relentless love of God. A former pastor turned author and writing coach, Kurt is passionate about helping others write\u2014and live\u2014their redemptive story. Whether he\u2019s mentoring writers, crafting hope-filled articles and books, or navigating his own chaos, he believes every setback is a setup for grace. He lives in the High Desert of Central Oregon with his wife, Katherine, a few well-worn cowboy boots, and a heart that beats for second chances. \u201cStill standing. Still laughing. Still writing. Still growing\u2026 By grace alone.\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/author\/kbubna\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/relationshipmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}