For Real!

Years ago, I bought a gold ring that was inset with diamonds for $19. No, it wasn't 'hot.' (stolen) You guessed it. It isn't real gold and they aren't real diamonds, but hey -- from 6 or 8 feet away, who could tell? It looks like the real thing, until you take a close look. Then, the fact that it is an imitation is obvious even to the untrained eye. There are plenty of imitations in our world. You can buy a pint of imitation vanillin flavor for the same price as a couple of ounces of real vanilla extract- but there is no comparing the flavor difference. You can buy an imitation Rolex watch on the streets of New York City for a few dollars, but a real one will cost several thousands.

I love real people. OK, you're scratching your head wondering, "What other kind are there? Robots? Fake people?" Yes, the world is filled with people who are just shells, images without substance, pretenders who work at hiding their true selves behind titles and tales; suits and surgeries. My heart breaks for these sad souls who have to work so hard to be somebody they are not, in vain attempts to gain the approval of people they don't even like.

Real people have learned to be 'at home' in their own skin. They don't have to prove anything, play a role, or have rhinoplasty. (Look it up and smile!) Real people know that they are more than the kind of car they drive and the job that they hold. Real people can be difficult because they are so resistant to the games too many of us play. You can't manipulate a real person because she is not responsive to peer pressure. Then, too, real people live and tell the truth which makes some of us very uncomfortable. They don't pretend to see the Emperor's new clothes, they just acknowledge that he's naked!
(If you don't know that story you can read it at http://hca.gilead.org.il/emperor.html)

Being authentic is important for Believers! The opposite is hypocrisy, which Jesus condemned more harshly than any other sin! When He met the Pharisees who were expert religious fakes, He was not gentle. In The Message, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible, Jesus' outrage at these pious frauds comes through. Take a look.

• “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
  
• “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.
  
• “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh." Matthew 23:23-27

Wow! What would Jesus say to some of us who are so skilled at putting on the religious show on Sunday? Just reading those words makes me shudder!

Here's the great truth. Though being honest with ourselves and others about who we are and what we've done is very hard, it is the first step to change. The Bible calls it 'confession.' John wrote about 'confessing our sins,' (1 John 1.9) and in the Greek text which is the New Testament's original language, he uses the word 'homologeo.' which means 'same word.' How does that connect? God wants us to 'say the same word' as He does about who we are and what we have done. He knows us - inside and out - beyond our pretending and our image. He says, "Agree with Me about your true self, and then, I can start the work of restoring you to a state of being genuine, of bearing my image as I intended!"

The #1 objection to authenticity is this - 'but if people really know me, they won't like me.' Mostly that's because we do not like ourselves! We think we are too fat, too thin, too dumb, too ugly, too shy, too tall, too short, too.... I've heard it all. Hidden inside of us, is a person God made to fill a specific place in this world. We sin against Him when we try to become somebody else. Yes, who He made us to be is damaged by sin, our own and who sin against us. The thing with sin is not to pretend or cover it up, but rather to own it and let the Son shine in. He will bring us His hope, His healing, and His restoration of the image of God that we were meant to bear, forgiving us and loving us, so we can liberally love and forgive others.

Are you a fake? Let God love you to reality.He knows the 'real' you so why not admit who you are to Him, and then to yourself?

Real is a beautiful thing - truly!