The Happy Family

Have you ever received bad news about someone and you just could not believe it? Maybe a couple filed for divorce when everyone thought they were perfect together or the husband committed suicide when everyone assumed he was a happy successful business man. Maybe it was a family who always went to church and looked so happy but you found out the father was taken to jail for abusing his wife and kids. The reason I bring this up is two fold. First, I have recently found out news similar to this and second I listened to The Ramones the other night. What do The Ramones have to do with any of this you ask. The song I happened to listen to is called Happy Family. I have heard it many times but I never really listened to the lyrics that closely. The other night I was walking with my headphones on and really focused on the lyrics. Take a look:

We're a happy family
We're a happy family
We're a happy family
Me mom and daddy

Siting here in Queens
Eating refried beans
We're in all the magazines
Gulpin' down thorazines

We ain't got no friends
Our troubles never end
No Christmas cards to send
Daddy likes men

Daddy's telling lies
Baby's eating flies
Mommy's on pills
Baby's got the chills

I'm friends with the President
I'm friends with the Pope
We're all making a fortune
Selling Daddy's dope

This Happy Family has a lot of issues! Thorazines is an antipsychotic, they have no friends, dad is having homosexual issues and the family is selling drugs. Maybe this song is fictitious but maybe not. It may be something that is going on in families all around us and we do not have a clue. Even worse some of this could be going on in our churches, our Sunday school classes or our small groups and we don't even know it. We have become very good at covering up our issues, we have become very good at looking like a Happy Family. James, the half brother of Christ, addressed this and gave us instruction:

James 5: 16 - Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

This is not an easy thing to do, it may be one of the toughest things a Christian is asked to do! Let down your walls, take away the facade and be real with one another. There should be someone we can trust, someone we can confide in to help us before it is too late. We need to real with one another. Life is tough at times and the enemy's attacks can be ruthless. Paul also spoke of our need to live our lives openly with one another:

Galatians 6: 2 - Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

How can you carry someone's burdens unless you know what they are. Unless we are open with one another and share our struggles with each other we can never really help each other.

It is time for us to stop worrying so much about what others think about us, it's time to stop trying to look like the Happy Family and let someone know you are the Hurting Family.