Soap operas generally offer storylines that stretch the limits of normalcy. Rarely do the characters resemble individuals we know in real life. For example, many times women go to the office in outfits that are more suited for the night club than the boardroom. However, there are key lessons that can be learned from this genre that we would be wise to heed. A common storyline involves hiding a secret.

Todays LIFE LESSON LEARNED FROM A SOAP OPERA:

The Secret ALWAYS comes out.

In soap opera world, the secret often involves an affair or issues of paternity. While this also occurs in real life, I would hope it doesn’t happen with the frequency or with the extreme and devious manipulation (or criminal activity) found in soap opera families.

Writers are prone to mix things up to keep viewers interested. As a result, there is so much cross-dating and marriage/divorce/remarriage it takes a spreadsheet to keep track of who is related or has dated or married. Affairs are common themes and every time, they seem to think they can keep it hidden from spouses, co-workers, or others.

While it is certainly possible to get pregnant after one encounter, the occurrence in soap operas should be statistically impossible. Meanwhile, the now pregnant woman has to convince her preferred partner that the baby is his and tries to hide any possibility of her cheating. Sometimes, she ends up delivering a” pre-term baby” that looks full-term and expects people to believe her story.

Some affairs involve the sibling or parent of a current or ex-partner. Which leads to even more dramatic storylines should a pregnancy occur…not to mention the questionable paternity results. Some babies are stolen at birth with the mother being told the child died. Meanwhile, the baby is sold on the black market or adopted, sometimes by a family member or rival.

The writers have certainly been creative with characters trying to hide secrets and fashioning more twists and turns than a road up the side of a mountain. The sheer drama is dizzying either way. What is common, however, is that the secret always comes out. Affairs are discovered and paternity results are dramatically revealed.

Jesus addressed the futility of trying to hide secrets – “The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.” (Luke 12:2 NLT). He was addressing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He called them out for looking righteous on the outside but their soul didn’t match. He warned that one day, the truth would come out.

Trying to cover something publically is tricky. It may be possible for a while but the work to keep up the charade and juggle the details may eventually lead to a slip. Especially if the secret involves another person, the risk of being found out always exists. David understood this. When his secret affair with Bathsheba was revealed publically, he admitted his fault. Later he penned Psalm 51 stating “because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always right in front of me.”

Not only does an individual know about his secrets, so does God. In fact, he knows everything.

• He knows our thoughts – “There isn’t a word on my tongue, LORD, that you don’t already know completely” (Ps. 139:8, CEB)
• He knows our actions – “For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.” (Job 34:21, NLT)
• He knows our motives – “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” (Prov. 16:2, NIV)

AND, he still loves us:

• “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8, ESV)
• “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–” (Eph 2:4-5, ESV)

That is not a secret to hide – that fact needs to be shared.