Secrets, Truth, and Messy Rooms

Secrets. What images does this word conjure up in your mind? I picture middle school girls whispering into eachother's ears about crushes, friends they don't like, and family secrets. These are not the secrets I am talking about here.

I'm talking about secrets of a darker, more clandestine nature; secrets of deeds done in secrecy, deception, rebellion and/or malice. It's funny how one secret of this nature leads to another, forming a complicated web of lies, becoming weighty and unbearable. The longer secrets of this nature are kept, the more difficult they are to bring into the light - for to expose one secret will ultimately unravel the rest and reveal all other secrets. If you are or have been in a situation like this, you may feel the overwhelming need to speak the truth. But what if bringing one truth to light will ultimately end up costing you personally? Is it worth it to bring light into the darkness and shed truth's brilliance on someone else's secret - a secret that has them on a path to harm and destruction? Is it worth it to speak the truth, even if it costs you dearly?

Sometimes bringing a situation into the open, bringing light and truth to darkness and secrecy, is a lot like cleaning out under the bed.

Your room may look clean and spotless, but underneath the bed lie piles of trash, clothes, and heaven only knows what else. To pull all that junk out from under the bed will throw your "clean" room into chaos, revealing a dirty, smelly, disgusting mess that may take days to clean up. But, once it has all been brought out into the light, then, and only then, can action be taken. The trash can be separated from the treasure, the dirty clothes can be washed, and all can be put back into its proper order. It is a long, grueling process, and the mess gets much worse before it gets better. When it is over, you will be exhausted, dirty, sweaty, and possibly overwhelmed. But your room is truly clean, not just in appearance, but in every corner. There is no need for perfume in the room, because what was rancid has been removed. There is no need for caution, because there is no mess for anyone to find.

So it is with secrets. The truth may make seem to make everything messy, but in reality, truth only reveals the mess that already existed. Truth is the agent by which change can occur, order can be restored, and healing can begin. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."