I get where you're coming from. I was in a similar spot recently (have not entirely gotten over that hump, actually). But what is helping me to begin to move past that and start going to church more regularly is the fact that you won't find perfect people in church, or anywhere else for that matter. Like my pastor jokes often, if he hears someone complain that the church is full of hypocrites, his first response is, "At least you'll have company."

Let's face it: we're probably all guilty of doing the same things we expect others in church to not do. We're all just a bunch of people who've messed up (and continue to mess up), with Jesus being our only leg to stand on.

So is it worth it to me to go to church and deal with all that stuff? Yes, because, ultimately, I'm not going for the people. I'm going for God. Besides, they have to deal with my imperfections too, so I figure we're all even And the fact that God still shows up when we worship Him in the midst of all our imperfections is a beautiful, awe-inspiring thing.

I have a friend who talks about this a lot, and I actually think it's a legit problem for her. not because she's helping too many homeless people, but because she often puts so much stock in what others think of her, she can't bring herself to say no to anything. for her, it comes down to a struggle of pride, and it's taken her most of college to finally understand this. so…i think the person with the prayer request was announcing their vice in a way that didn't get to the root of their actual problem, because no one likes to admit that they care too much about what others think.

not that that's actually this particular person's problem–it could be something else. but just like the job interview question we all dread, she gave a response that masked what her actual issue was.

And I really hadn't because, I didn't drink underage.

I may have gotten carried away and driven my car into a tree while under the influence. I saved myself a trip to jail by slamming my head into the windshield and my leg into the dashboard – I went to the ER instead.

So, that night at Bible study I was surrounded by people confessing safe sins. And it angered me. I thought, doesn't living in God's grace mean we can be honest with each other, without fear of judgment?

So, what did I do? I said, please pray for me, I slammed my car into a tree last Thursday night and its going to cost a boatload to repair. Not only that, but I have court in about 3 weeks and no driver's license since I was drunk when it happened. Also I have unexpected medical bills due to the trip to the ER I had to take to have the pieces of glass removed from my face and scalp. But hey, guess what?! Even with all that, God still loves me.

I was broken. I was trying to find happiness at the bottom of a bottle, in addition to taking prescription medication to lose weight. I just needed people to understand me, and instead I got a room of judgment and misunderstanding. That's when I quit going to Bible study. I wish we lived in a world where it was ok to be honest. I'd rather be real and raw than fake and phony.