The Open Window

"I spake openly to the world… and in secret have I said nothing." — John 18:20 Imagine two executives running the same company. Executive A is polished in every board meeting. He gives inspiring speeches, makes brilliant presentations, and is masterful in front of the camera.

But behind closed doors — with his direct reports, in the private email chains, in the conversations his assistants overhear — he is a completely different person. Cutting. Dismissive. Manipulative. Nobody mentions it openly, but everyone knows.

Executive B is simply the same person in every room. What she says in the boardroom is what she says in the break room. Her private emails match her public memos. You could broadcast any conversation she has ever had and it would be consistent with her stated values.

She is not perfect — but she is transparent. Jesus, standing before Pilate on the worst night of His life, did not try to reframe His ministry for political advantage. He said: "I spoke openly to the world.

I taught in synagogues and the Temple. In secret I said nothing." His transparency was not naive — it was a form of power. He had no hidden agenda to protect, no private compromise to conceal. Candour was His armour.

In a world saturated with spin, the most radical thing a believer can do is simply be transparent. Not brutal. Not reckless with other people's information. But genuinely the same person in the light and in the dark.

Morrison noticed that Christ's openness was not just personality — it was theology. The God who made Himself visible in flesh was the same God who spoke plainly through prophets. "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past…" (Hebrews 1:1).

The trajectory of divine communication is always toward clarity, not obscurity. We reflect the nature of God when we refuse to live a double life. 🪞 Reflect on this: Is there a gap between who you are publicly and who you are privately?

What is one step you could take toward closing it? Are there conversations you are having "in secret" that you would not want broadcast to those who trust you? What would it free you from if you simply committed to being the same person in every room?

👣 Take a Step Action: The Consistency Audit Ask one person who knows you very well and one person who only knows you professionally the same question: "What word best describes me?" Compare the answers honestly.

Say: "Lord, make me the same person in every room. Strip the performance and leave only truth. I want to speak openly as You did."