The conversation:

You: “Hey how ya doin’?”
Me: “Ah man I’m doing good! You?”
You: “good man. Just doing good.”

Are you really good? For that matter, am I really good? I feel like I have fell into this auto-pilot trap and seems to be the first response out of my mouth when asked how I am doing. Sometimes that is true. But other times it just comes out. There have been times when I’m just straight up struggling but with a smile I still reply, “good”. Why is that? A part of me feels like its a way of being polite and not throwing out my true feelings as to make someone feel awkward or uncomfortable. But is that really a good way to be? I don’t think so.

How different could a conversation be if we were honest about how we are doing? Not that we have to break down and cry or whatever, but that we would be honest and open ourselves up to each other. A lot of times we say it once and it becomes our auto-response. And once this happens it becomes increasingly hard not to say it. Think of this…how would you know how your best friend was doing if they were good every time you talk to them? My best friends have come from open conversations with true feelings forward and complete transparency. This is true in small groups as well. We are afraid to open ourselves up for fear of being looked at weird or that we are not a “good enough Christian”. Or even the thought that no one else is where I am so I won’t speak up and then we end up going through whatever we are dealing with it alone.

People, we need people. We need honesty. We need each other. Lets drop the “good” and really evaluate where we are and make our responses accordingly. You never know who could have an uplifting or encouraging word for you. Honesty and companionship are crucial.