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Transparent Often times we talk about transparency and somehow we want the world to believe that we are transparent people who have nothing to hide and are always predictable. Yet, in reality, this is so far from the truth, and even though we aspire to be transparent I suggest that we simply do not understand what the word really means and to many of us the word implies a certain state of vulnerability, which by no means can be comfortable. In today's society we guard our privacy at all cost, and at the same time it seems that we have this deep hunger that yearns for intimacy; we yearn to be intimate with our spouses, our children, our co-workers, yet it seems we are unable to achieve this and everyday we grow more distant; we are social but we pain at being intimate. It is evident that a conflict exists between our desire to be private and our desire for intimacy. I want to suggest that we look at transparency not as a vulnerable state to be avoided at all cost but as a posture that provides a safe place for us, and those whom we love, to find intimacy and healing, especially when our distance is a result of inflicted pain. What does this form of transparency mean? Does it mean we confess our sins to the entire world and risk being judged and condemned? That might be the case for some as it was for me, but in reality not. Being transparent means that we allow ourselves to be seen as God sees us; transparent in order to provide a safe place for loved ones to enter. For me being transparent was writing a book and revealing the hidden skeletons which haunted me; telling my loved ones, and the world, things that I rather had kept hidden in the deepest crevices of my soul, and making those things so transparent that it was brokenness was evident to all. My urgency to be transparent was that moment of conviction and realization that if Jesus was going to do a work in my life and fill that void deep within me I had to come clean and become transparent. Being transparent does not mean that the pain deep within us disappears never to hunt us again; in fact that may never happen for many of us. What it does mean is that now we have a chance to find healing and if we have a chance then our children and loved one have a chance and together we can begin to build a stronger foundation for our lives. It is very difficult to be transparent to the world and expose us to pain. Yet, the greatest pain is that pain we inflict on ourselves, and others, when we continue to hold to those chains that bind us all. Lord, allow me to be transparent so that I can be intimate with you and my loved ones. Meditation: Are you transparent before your loved ones, and if so how intimate are you?
Jorge L. Valdes, Ph.D.
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