Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Proverbs 27:5

When there’s an elephant in the room and no one is talking about it, there’s a problem that people are avoiding. When we are all looking around its legs and trying to talk over the noises it makes, it’s also a problem. When we refer to an elephant being in the room, it’s a polite way of saying we’re intentionally avoiding talking about obvious problems. Often when the root of the problem surfaces, it’s not a pretty scene because anger, resentment, and bitterness has had a chance to grow.

This could be the alcoholic or the drug abuser in the family, though it doesn’t have to be so grandiose of a problem. The smaller problems can hinder relationships just as easily. All those involved die slowly inside from not resolving the issue.

What’s your “elephant in the room?” Is there something you need to say out in the open that you’re not saying. I know from past experience that getting things out in the open is not as easy as it sounds. At all.

But there will be a time and place to do it. The question is, when the time comes, will we be courageous enough to deal with it? Pray for the wisdom you will need at that time.