How are you, REALLY?

November 1, 2024

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16)

Years ago when I lunched with a friend on Mondays, I’d always ask, “How are you, Skip?” “Great, wonderful, marvelous and tremendous!” he’d always answer. 

On many Mondays I’d not had a good weekend, and life was not great, wonderful, marvelous, and tremendous for me. But this guy was always emphatically optimistic. After this pattern continued for some time, one Monday I asked him, “Tell me something. If everything wasn’t great, wonderful, marvelous, and tremendous, how would you answer my question?” “Oh, I’d probably lie to you,” he responded.

I then decided to rephrase my question. I asked, “How are you, really, Skip?” He worked with a group who memorized a verse of Scripture every week. “Frankly, if you really want to know,” he said, “My verse of the week is, ‘Hang it on your beak, freak!’” We then had some honest conversation, what I call Reality Contact.

What James had in mind is that if we are honest with each other, we will be burdened to pray for each other. As a result of our mutual prayers for one another we will be healed. If we are not honest when we meet together, we will not pray for each other, and mutual healing will not happen. One translation reads that our honest prayers will explode with power!

We are missing something important if we do not have “Reality Contact” with a believer we trust. Do you have that kind of relationship with anyone?

Dick Woodward, 01 November 2011

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Perspective on Hypocrisy

July 3, 2013

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”   (Exodus 20:16)

People talk about white lies, black lies and bald face lies. We can lie by telling part of the truth or by quoting the truth out of context.  The spirit of this commandment cuts across all of that and prohibits our bearing a false witness or impression no matter how we do that.

In 1954 while I was driving a car filled with high school young people returning from a mountain retreat in California, a plainclothes policeman pulled me over for violating several moving violations. I knew that I already had so many citations for speeding this one would cost me my license and my job as a youth pastor.

While the policeman was writing up my ticket he paused for what seemed like forever.  He then told me what I deserved but said he was going to let me off with a warning for only one reason: he knew my father. My father had never been in California so I realized he thought he knew my father.  I responded by saying, “My father is a great man!”

I had a great discussion on ethics with those young people as we continued our trip home.  Because I had not deliberately created the false impression of the policemen, did I break the ninth commandment when I made a true statement about my father?  If I had said nothing would I have broken this law of God?

What do you think?  What would you do if you were faced with similar circumstances?  How many ways can we bear a false witness?  Jesus answered that question when He used one of His favorite words: hypocrite!

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Posted by Dick Woodward