“You can feel in the room that you are the only one showing your cards”. This is a significant statement, in my opinion, that you highlighted in this article.
“Showing your cards” somehow “feels” like the “Christian” thing to do in most circumstances. But is it? Jesus didn’t show His cards to the hard hearted. He spoke in parables to conceal the truth from them. He put on His “poker face” quite often. He only “showed His hand” to those who legitimately wanted to know.
What’s my point? You do not have some type of “Christian obligation” to show your cards to someone who’s playing a different game. Your cards won’t matter if their game is to throw darts.
Study the hand you have been dealt and only show those cards to people who have your back. Otherwise, it will just be a dart thrown at the king of hearts.
Praying for your strength, wisdom and discernment!
P.S. Your conclusion in this article is profound. Just live life. That simple act will aggravate a dart thrower. They are all about scoring points on the board. You don’t get points by living life based on what’s presented to you. If it snows, you shovel. No points earned. But what you do get by a shoveled driveway is a clear path forward.
David — thank you! You’re right to name the difference between witness and exposure.
Jesus Christ did not confuse openness with availability; He spoke plainly to those who were seeking and in parables to those who were posturing. The point in the article isn’t that we owe everyone our interior life — it’s that we stop contorting ourselves to earn mutuality where none exists.
Showing your cards isn’t a Christian obligation; staying governed under Christ is. Living simply inside what’s actually in front of you clears the path forward, whether anyone is keeping score or not.
Yea, contorting of oneself is damaging. I’m reminded of my personal early adulthood. I dated a girl in college who I was enamored with. It was a complex relationship. When I withdrew, she pursued. When I pursued her, she withdrew. One night I thought I had the nuke weapon…..I would reveal my full feelings to her. Following that, we only ever spoke once and I never saw her again.
Personal story to share that your insights here are in tune. Contorting yourself to achieve a theoretical outcome does not work well.
Psalms 91:2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God in Him I will trust."
All glory be to God. Amen.
God's peace be with you. Amen.
Publicly recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, ask for forgiveness from Him for your sins, pick up your own cross and follow Jesus. Jesus Christ has risen indeed. Alleluia and Amen.
I hope to see you in heaven.
Jesus Christ is with you. Amen.
We are saved by grace alone and not by works that we do.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not parish but have eternal life. Amen.
"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
Mathew 10:38-39
"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
All thanks glory and honor be to Jesus Christ my King,Lord, and Savior. Amen.
“You can feel in the room that you are the only one showing your cards”. This is a significant statement, in my opinion, that you highlighted in this article.
“Showing your cards” somehow “feels” like the “Christian” thing to do in most circumstances. But is it? Jesus didn’t show His cards to the hard hearted. He spoke in parables to conceal the truth from them. He put on His “poker face” quite often. He only “showed His hand” to those who legitimately wanted to know.
What’s my point? You do not have some type of “Christian obligation” to show your cards to someone who’s playing a different game. Your cards won’t matter if their game is to throw darts.
Study the hand you have been dealt and only show those cards to people who have your back. Otherwise, it will just be a dart thrown at the king of hearts.
Praying for your strength, wisdom and discernment!
P.S. Your conclusion in this article is profound. Just live life. That simple act will aggravate a dart thrower. They are all about scoring points on the board. You don’t get points by living life based on what’s presented to you. If it snows, you shovel. No points earned. But what you do get by a shoveled driveway is a clear path forward.
David — thank you! You’re right to name the difference between witness and exposure.
Jesus Christ did not confuse openness with availability; He spoke plainly to those who were seeking and in parables to those who were posturing. The point in the article isn’t that we owe everyone our interior life — it’s that we stop contorting ourselves to earn mutuality where none exists.
Showing your cards isn’t a Christian obligation; staying governed under Christ is. Living simply inside what’s actually in front of you clears the path forward, whether anyone is keeping score or not.
Great conversation…….just like living life!
Yea, contorting of oneself is damaging. I’m reminded of my personal early adulthood. I dated a girl in college who I was enamored with. It was a complex relationship. When I withdrew, she pursued. When I pursued her, she withdrew. One night I thought I had the nuke weapon…..I would reveal my full feelings to her. Following that, we only ever spoke once and I never saw her again.
Personal story to share that your insights here are in tune. Contorting yourself to achieve a theoretical outcome does not work well.
Psalm 20
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he grant you your heart's desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.
Continuing to pray for you and your family.
Psalms 91:2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God in Him I will trust."
All glory be to God. Amen.
God's peace be with you. Amen.
Publicly recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, ask for forgiveness from Him for your sins, pick up your own cross and follow Jesus. Jesus Christ has risen indeed. Alleluia and Amen.
I hope to see you in heaven.
Jesus Christ is with you. Amen.
We are saved by grace alone and not by works that we do.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not parish but have eternal life. Amen.
Jesus Christ said:
Mathews 10:32-33
"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
Mathew 10:38-39
"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
All thanks glory and honor be to Jesus Christ my King,Lord, and Savior. Amen.
I love the firefly image.
What I’m pointing at isn’t hope as wonder or beauty; it’s hope as a feeling-state that collapses under betrayal.
Biblical hope isn’t naïve or fragile. It’s anchored in Jesus Christ and expressed through trust.
The shift I’m naming is from holding hope as “something to feel” to “living inside hope as something to stand in.”
God does send more. He also teaches us how to walk when the lights go out.