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In case you have lived under a rock for all of 2010 in North Texas I need to let you know the Super Bowl is coming to Dallas, well actually Arlington but close enough. In case you don’t live in Texas I also want to let you know this is a very big deal to many people in the Dallas area.

Each and every mover and shaker in Dallas has been a big player in this event. Even the local newspaper has a clock that is counting down every second before the big game. Party’s are planned, hotels are booked and this all with the countdown standing at 25 days 7 hours, 32 minutes and 30 seconds. They have been planning this for years; the big day is almost here.

They are expecting people from all over the country and world to be here; upward of 250,000 visitors. With that expectation comes the fact that Dallas wants to put its best foot forward; I have no problem with that; we all like to put our best foot forward for guest. I am from Dallas, love the area and even with its faults think it is a great place to live; of course I want others to think the same. With this in mind……

I saw a headline the other day where the city was clearing up the graffiti on the walls, sidewalks and building all throughout the city. I thought this was a great idea; then I read the reason of the clean up was for the Super Bowl. Seems to me we have a Super Bowl Cover Up going on.

The city is seeking to cover up its ugly side for a period of time. What works for the city, works for people as well, as I look around we as people, normally have a super cover up going on ourselves, we just don’t put it on the front page of the newspaper. Here is how it works.

We like the city are concerned with what others will think of us so we cover up our ugly side as best we can. We dress up, smile and tell everyone life is great while on the inside our heart is breaking, we are depressed or we are struggling with our failures.

This is one of the great wastes of times in life for several reasons. One is when we do this we assume that everyone else is doing so great when in reality they have their own cover up going on. We all hurt, we all sin, and we all have things we are not proud of. The sooner we realize that the sooner we stop wasting our time on our great cover up.

Another reason this is a waste of time is that it keeps us from seeking the help and support available to us. As soon as we drop our guard and are real then healing begins. In this area the first stop should be God; here is the most useless place to attempt to cover things up. God already knows, take it to Him first, admit you hurt, admit you’re frustrated, and admit you’ve blown it. Then ask for the help that is always available, always understanding and always deals with us in a redemptive manner when we cease the big cover up.

No matter how much we seek to hide some aspect of our life trust me people will always find it. Many are actually looking for it, which is a waste of their life but we will talk about that another day. We waste our lives trying to keep some kind of ‘perfect life’ reputation going; let’s be real. Actually when people see you have overcome the ‘graffiti’ in your life they can be inspired and given hope that they can do it to.

Let’s face it no city how great it is will be able to get rid of all the ugly aspects of city living but there is nothing wrong with trying. We as individual’s need to face it as well, we will never be able to completely rid ourselves completely of our ugly side.

The city is using a lot of tricky formulas to rid itself of the unwanted writing on the wall, it seems to be working but even they know it will only be for a period of time. For us and the ‘unwanted’ aspects of our life we have a formula that will last forever; the forgiving blood of Christ.

Cover yourself with that.

Scripture: Hebrews 9:14, “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to avoid the trap of worrying about what others think instead of what you think of our lives. Guide us to lean on you and more than anything thank you for helping to clean us up. We ask these things in the name of Christ, Amen.

Simple/truths 160 written by Richard Harris for more simple/truths go to simple-truths.net.

If you live in the Dallas area you can purchase Simple Truths Volume I for a suggested donation of 20 dollars to Our Hands, His Heart. For further purchase information reply back to richardgrl@aol.com. If you do not live in the Dallas area you can purchase Simple Truths Volume I at simple-truths.net.