There is peace and happiness in transparency. But there is gloom and fear of the unknown in secrecy. Immediately, after Adam and Eve had sinned, secrecy became the norm, so that human life would never be the same. The general unhappiness is anchored in secrecy, assuming there is peace in secrecy. This is a lie, sustaining all troubles affecting humanity.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:7-11 NIV).
The above Scripture declares the origins of human troubles. Secrecy, depicted in desiring to avoid transparency, was established at the sin of Adam. Having discovered the cause of unhappiness, it should, therefore, be regarded as easy, to steer away from bondage.
Any person is as free as living without secrets. Some people deserve prison-hood, but leading what appears as normal life? The term privacy is dignified. Nevertheless, it is embarrassingly depicting the secrets that keep humanity in spiritual bondage, although, protecting physical lives.
On matters of freedom, Jesus used children to reveal what freedom entails. I cannot imagine any freedom that surpasses the behaviour of children. Their happiness cannot be affected by conditions of living. Whether from a wealthy family or a poor family, the happiness of children glows.
People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone, who will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17 NIV).
When Jesus seized an opportunity to teach, using children, He was revealing an aspect of freedom. Rarely do little children pretend to be happy, or unhappy, regardless of circumstances. However, adults prefer living with secrets, until interred in their graves.
In a sinful world, children may be forced to keep secrets. The warped guardians are occasionally on the news, enforcing innocent children to never divulge horrifying abusive experiences. This is just as it is now commonly known that child abuse is rising by leaps and bounds in our societies.
However, without such conditions, children are a joy to live with, when compared to adults. The idea of keeping secrets is viewed as pro-survival, but the opposite is true. Confessing sins was designed to grant freedom. Pretenders prefer living in spiritual bondage, assuming that to be freedom.
“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:15-16 NIV).
The above Scripture reveals that illnesses emanate from the conditions of sinfulness, depicted in secrecy. Healing requires confessions of those sins. The power of sin loses its venom when confessed. But, what is even more important is that keeping secrets does not only affect physical illnesses.
Mental illness is, obviously, worse than physical illness. There are many people who are tormented mentally, without being aware of that being a condition of illness. Many people die without confessing, due to ignorance of the true identity of humanity.
The most important datum ever published is that humans are different from animals. The life of a human being does not end at death. The purpose of Jesus was to reveal this information. However, this is not readily received by ordinary people, even though true.
As far as adults are concerned, publicly revealing one’s secrets is dehumanizing. But the idea of hiding those secrets confirms the status of bondage, leading to death. The shame that besieged Adam and Eve is what affects humanity. Surprisingly, happiness is experienced only when unashamed of transparency.
Regardless of being envied, due to false projection of happiness, it is impossible to be happy, when keeping secrets to oneself. Secretive people live with the fear of their secrets being discovered. They would be unaware of the fact that the only license to freedom, in this world, is not keeping secrets.
Adam and Eve became conscious of being naked, after having eaten the wrong fruit. The exposure of their nakedness made them feel undignified. But that was the effect of the sin that, from then on, captured humanity. From that point of Adam’s behaviour, life would never be that easy for ordinary humanity.
As common as Christianity is, it takes only the informed to appreciate the words of Jesus to come out of sin. The endeavour for ordinary people is to come out of sin. But the only hindrance from coming out of sin remains to be the idea of keeping secrets. Looking to Jesus, but refusing to let go of secrets cannot free humanity.
The majority of people across the world diligently read the Bible. They pray regularly, expressing their love for Jesus. This is just as the Pharisees; in Jesus’ time, did everything assumed as pleasing to God. Their only stumbling block remained in keeping secrets.
The Pharisees were ordinarily viewed as good people but were held back by their refusal to divulge secrets. This is an obstacle, anchored in ignorance. When aware that a human being is not a mere physical body, hardly living beyond a hundred years, one behaves differently. Jesus revealed the obstacle when showing how difficult it can be, for those desiring to be His followers:
Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (Luke 14:25-33 NIV).
The piece of good news, unknown, even by the apparently good Christians, is that one is safer without necessarily being Christian. As illustrated in verses 31-32 of the above Scripture, one does himself a favour when not foolishly dabbling in Christianity. As previously highlighted on this website, there is danger in combining the two opposites. Dichotomies need to be kept unattached to each other.
They simply need careful handling, if a disaster is to be avoided. Scriptures have always been clear of that reality. Non-believers are safer than those dabbling in Christianity, in order to receive human approval. If there is anything Jesus vehemently opposed, it could not be anything worse than the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Were the Pharisees God-fearing people, or God’s enemies? They projected being God-fearing, donned in their lovely attires. Deep down their hearts, they kept secrets that they could not publicly divulge but were known by Jesus. Each person is fully aware of the secrets lodged in his/her own heart.
It is these secrets that characterized what sustained the lukewarm condition described in the Book of Revelation. Those in the habit of keeping secrets feel very comfortable, as ordinarily perceived to be good people. But the warning below should not be taken casually:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:14-18 NIV).
The condition of being spit out of the Lord’s mouth can be quite frightening. But the most interesting aspect is among those said to be cold, as not threatened with spitting. Keeping secrets gives an impression of being safe, just as there is a semblance of convenience in being lukewarm. This describes the idea of maintaining secrets.
Keeping secrets appears convenient, but deadly at the same time. The problem is in not knowing that a human being is a spirit, and not an animal, poised to die and be forgotten about. A human being is God’s image, with qualities of living for eternity.
No price can ever match the reality of eternity. The greatest lie remains to be the assumption of safety in keeping secrets. The governments of this world are sustained by state secrets, dignified as “internal security.” They compete with one another, in terms of maintaining “internal security.”
In Zimbabwe, the internal secrets are characterized by the most feared CIO (Central Intelligence Organization). One wonders what makes members of that organization happy. Are they honestly happy in their secretive activities in that organization? No outsider can be able to know what goes on in the state security organization.
Anyone assuming those people to be happy, does so, out of ignorance. Otherwise, nothing is attractive to those whose job is to kill fellow human beings, assuming to be maintaining security. When informed of the impossibility of achieving happiness in secret services, the CIO agents are the most miserable.
Although probably handsomely rewarded for their grisly acts, those people are not different from those belonging to the so-called secretive Satanism. Their happiness is sustained in materialism, and yet there cannot be substance in materialism.
The physical person ends, at one point or another, but the spiritual person lives on. This is as observable as known of the demise of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. During his time, Robert Mugabe appeared invincible, yet that falsehood is now in the public domain. His admirers are now ashamed of identifying with his legacy. What lives on, of Robert Mugabe are evil deeds.
My own grandchildren cannot believe me when telling them the tales of Gukurahundi, instigated by the late RG. But his life might only be exciting in the minds of those having materially benefitted from his criminality. The majority desire to forget the pangs of ruthlessness inflicted on ordinary people, especially those who dared to challenge him, politically.
But his victims could be the happiest, as long as having completely forgiven him. The secret activities of the CIO during his reign of terror may now be haunting those CIO operatives. It is impossible for normal people to live happily, after having participated in such gruesome activities.
Those people can never be free until they publicly confess their grim activities in the CIO. Their material acquisitions amount to nothing when considering living with such dark secretive memories. The enjoyment of benefits, pursuing such secret services, was as temporary as this world is temporary.
The consequences of hiding secrets include Christian pretenders, hiding their true colours, behind the name of Jesus. Although lavishly granted honour, the appropriate reward comes, either during this lifetime or in the world to come. They will be rewarded, accordingly, as goes the adage: “You reap what you saw”.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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