The Ugly Truth

"Please don't judge me.
And I won't judge you.
Cause it could get ugly.
Before it gets beautiful."
        -Don't Judge Me, Chris Brown.

Sometimes when people say.."Let me ask you something"..my whole world comes crashing to a screeching halt.

I struggle with telling the truth. And I know you wonder how that could possibly be a bad thing. But the problem is that I don't mind giving people the ugly truth.

Granted..there are times when the truth is not mine to share. If it belongs to one of my kids or one of my girls. If it will hurt someone I love. Or cause them to get into serious trouble. These are the times when you either get a blank stare or a complete change of subject.

But if it is my stuff and your question comes from a good place..or I want to buck you for daring to ask..you'll get a brutally honest answer. And chances are it will be more than you bargained for.

I think that honesty was always such a big deal to me because Before Christ Netta..Netta, the cheater..was such a liar. You have to keep track of so many different lies in that part of your life that you really don't have room for extra lies in any other part.

And for the record..any cheater that says they don't lie..is a lying cheater. (Quote me on that.)

So. Back to the ugly truth.

I know how easy it is for people to judge you when they ASSUME they know the truth. And I also know that sometimes the truth can be a lot worse than the assumption. So. If you're dealing with someone who already has a less than flattering preconceived notion of you..someone with a judgmental spirit..there is no place to go but down.

I know how easy it is for people to judge you because they are afraid of the truth. And though that one really has nothing to do with you..it still damages your relationship with them.

And I certainly know how easy it is for people to judge you because you aren't ashamed of the truth. They would rather have you cover the truth up. Have you lock it in a closet. They are upset because you don't let the truth manipulate and control you the way their SECRET truth does them.

And then there are the people who judge you because they don't want to admit that they envy you. These people want to be the kind of person that walks in the truthfulness of who they are. But they are afraid that they will lose everybody walking with them because they may look around and recognize that the person they started walking with is not the same person they are still walking with.

The truth does indeed set you free (John 8:32). When you face the truth..lies no longer have any power over you. Read all of John 8. Accusee accused of adultery yet no accuser could cast a stone. Jesus teaches here that judgment belongs only to God.

In John 8:15 Jesus says, "Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man." Jesus could..had every right to on God's authority..but did not. We can't but do. What?

The truth shines a bright light on all the things the devil would rather have us keep covered up in darkness (John 8:12). The truth let's you rip off all your masks and be who you really are. And that scares a lot of people because then they are faced with turning that bright light inward and there is no telling what they may be forced to see.

I think Chris Brown had it half right. Please don't judge me.  And I won't judge you...because it isn't my place. But don't take my word for it...Read Matthew 7:1-5!

And that's the ugly truth.

PS...please don't think that After Christ Netta is coasting along on this great truth highway. Because she really isn't. I'm still honest. And I no longer am a cheater but I got some junk about me. Trust. My struggle is real. But. I know I do not struggle alone or in vain. God is with me. He has His potter's hands all over me all the time. And like Job, when I come out I will be like pure gold! (Job 23:10)

Because  without some Roman 12:2-3..I can make a mess of my life with unbelievable quickness.

And that's just some more ugly truth!