Impossible Honesty

AS A PATIENT I have found in the past few months that I am the most effective advocate for myself when I am honest with the doctor. Sometimes that means explaining to the doctor why my eating, living, working, etc might be masking what is a much larger problem and other times it means being honest about my true pain level (which I always rate low) while explaining that I have a high tolerance for pain. 

This honesty has led me to a long series of Indiana Jones type doctors. The type of doctor who wants to hear it all before embarking on what for me seems like an epic quest to discover all that ails me. 

My honesty has helped them help me because by being honest I have been rewarded with better health. 

AS A PASTOR I spent my first few years trying to look like I knew what I was doing. I worked hard to look "holy". I just figured it went with the job. In doing this I ended up not being authentic and that hurt my ministry. 

Now as a pastor I live my life as a open book (out loud as they say). I share my victories and my defeats, my ups and my downs. 

My honesty has helped people trust me and made me a better pastor. 

AS A TEACHER I am surrounded by a legalistic structure that hampers personal growth through learning (we do learn from our mistakes after all). This structure meant to protect students breeds miss trust among colleagues and administrators while at the same time hampering open dialogue. It makes honesty and openness impossible.

In our effort to protect kids we stop the  healing and growth that can only come through acknowledging our errors and growing from them. Thus hurting our children by hampering the development of their educators. 

I write this because I am frustrated, but not without hope that there is room for more rational minds to prevail on this issue. 

[Pardon my rant and I apologize if this post makes no sense.]