Another take on the mask

16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. 19 Dear brothers, if anyone has slipped away from God and no longer trusts the Lord and someone helps him understand the Truth again, 20 that person who brings him back to God will have saved a wandering soul from death, bringing about the forgiveness of his many sins. (James 5:16, 19-20 TLB)

Our pastor spoke about authenticity recently, another in his series about being established in our walk with God. As he said many times in the sermon, we finally come to the place of experiencing God's tremendous love for us once we are courageous enough to be the 'real deal' with God and others. There was a point in the sermon where he told us how hard it was for him to develop this authenticity in his own life. Now, you might think it wouldn't be a struggle for a pastor to be 'real', but the truth of the matter is that even pastor's are human! Humans have a hard time sometimes when it comes to not 'hiding' what we really feel, how we really have been behaving, or what our real struggles might just be at that moment. Pride, and sometimes shame, keeps us from being authentic with each other.

At one point, he shared a time when he was really struggling in his life and this is where he established a solid relationship with another guy who was also a Christian in order to really get his life back on track. He put himself in a place of 'accountability' in order to not further bury his real issues and concerns in that season of his life. Let me be the first to admit that this was a pretty bold and brave step to take. Why? It is much easier to bury stuff, putting up a front, than it is to be genuine and bear it for others to see. I think there is this misconception in life that others will judge us for our failures and shortcomings, so we don't share them, even though we so much desire for another to actually help us face them head on and deal with them. Maybe this has proven to be true when we bear them to the wrong individual, but when we get established in a relationship with another committed to helping us grow - someone also walking out this day-to-day life with Christ - we have the opportunity to be real.

Trust is a big part of authenticity - trusting that others will not take what they discover about us and put it out there for the whole world to see. After all, we might be willing to share it with another who will pray for us, give us wisdom as to how they have dealt with the issue themselves, or even just walk with us in discovery of the truth together, but we don't want the entire world to know! We want accountability, but not publicity! Yet, even in the closest of relationships, we sometimes hold back bits and pieces of our 'real self' because we still don't want to let anyone else know that 'side' of us. It is that 'side' of us that needs the healing, though, so not being will to allow discovery of it will significantly impact us coming to know God's love as we should on that 'side' of our lives.

Love requires authenticity - being the real us. We are the closest to God's heart when we are the real us. If there is anything I have learned about authenticity over the years it would have to be that all of life cannot be a masquerade party. The mask has to come off some time. If it doesn't, we will never really discover the way God's love can and will minister to that area of our life where we have been struggling the hardest and the longest to 'live under cover'. Even the most skilled 'cover taker' cannot remain concealed forever. Pride being what it is, we might attempt to mask the 'real us', but that only keeps us from really experiencing the tremendous healing of God's love. Just sayin!

Which "face" are you showing?

 ¹⁴But when I saw that they were not maintaining a steady, straight course according to the Message, I spoke up to Peter in front of them all: "If you, a Jew, live like a non-Jew when you're not being observed by the watchdogs from Jerusalem, what right do you have to require non-Jews to conform to Jewish customs just to make a favorable impression on your old Jerusalem cronies?"

(Galations 2:14 The Message)

Paul has spent a significant amount of time giving the run-down of his credentials for preaching the Word of God, his calling being direct and affirmed by those who had walked with Christ during his earthly ministry.  He had submitted to the leadership of the New Testament church in order to have his teachings "validated" or "affirmed".  This was not so much because of any "need" to get his ministry "blessed" by the other leaders, but because he wanted to be sure he was aligned in his teaching - accountable and committed to sharing the whole revelation of Christ.

In the process, he began to observe an "inconsistency" in the walk on Peter.  You see, Peter had engaged in behavior we all have probably been involved in at some time in our life - acting one way with a certain group, and another with the other group.  When he was not being "scrutinized" by those of the Jewish "conservatives", he did not find it offensive to eat with non-Jews.  But...when the "conservative" Jewish brothers were in town, he refused to associate with the non-Jewish believers.  Paul confronts him for being a little "two-sided" in his behavior.

We cannot ignore the fact - we are probably as concerned with making a "favorable" impression in some "circle"!  We act one way when not being "watched" by one set of eyes, but a completely different performance is observed when oversight is likely to occur.  I wonder if we treat God this way?  I am thinking we just might!

There are times when we think God is not really watching us too closely - those are the times we allow ourselves to "indulge" in the things God has declared to be unwise, harmful, or mal-aligned with his will for our lives.  You have heard the example of the couple who argues all the way to church in the car, but once they hit the parking lot of the church, smiles appear, arms are around each other, and kindness abounds!  It is as though God wasn't there with them in the car!

For some of us, we'd call this being "two-faced".  What we are / do in private differs from the image we put forth to the public.  This is a very dangerous place to live!  Whenever we allow "inconsistencies" between what is done in private and what we are in public, we are trying to straddle the fence of dual allegiance.  When it suits us, we align with Christ - when it doesn't, we make an excuse for our behavior.  If we have to make an excuse for our behavior, we probably feel we have to defend it!  I'd rather have God be my defense - he does a much better job!

Authentic Community

¹⁹ Take your stand with God's loyal community and live, 
   or chase after phantoms of evil and die. 

(Proverbs 11:19 The Message)

This past week our Pastor presented three key components of a life that is "growing" - learning from our Life Experiences, Applying God's Word into our lives, and being involved in Authentic Community.  Today, I'd like to build upon the idea of Authentic Community.  As we think about those that we "stand" with on a daily basis, we have to examine the "value" of those relationships in comparison to the other two key components.  In other words, I think that when our associations are regularly into the Word of God and involved in applying that direction to their life experiences, they are a pretty solid group to "stand" with!  When this is not the priority, it may be like we are chasing after phantoms of evil that will result in life experiences we'd rather avoid and no real authenticity because we feel like we must cover up our wrong life choices.

At Bible Study group this week, one of the things we really began to think a little harder about was the authenticity of our associations.  You know me, I had to come home to look that word up!  Simply put, it means that we are the "genuine article!  What we may not realize is that there are expanded definitions to this idea of being "authentic" that we should probably not gloss over.

- The first is the idea of having the origin accepted by unquestionable evidence.  This simply means that our authenticity cannot be called into question because there is so much proof that we are being "real".  There is no contradiction in the evidence that is produced by our life experiences.  My elders would say this is "walking the talk and talking the walk".  What we say matches what we do and vice-versa.

- The second is the idea of being reliable and trustworthy.  When you are genuine in your life, there is a reliability that is produced and that makes it easier for trust to be developed between you and others.  The reliability of our life experiences is only as good as the reliability of our embracing the Word as our direction.  The authenticity of our lives is only as good as the freedom we feel to be "real" in our lives.  

- The last is the idea of being free of falseness or pretense.  I guess this is the hardest for some of us because our life experiences do not always go the way we had hoped.  When they don't, we often don't want to own up to the outcomes of those experiences - yep, sin produces outcomes and those may not always be the easiest to own up to!  Authenticity is the ability of being free from the shame of showing what you are learning from your life experiences.

So, today as you read these words, I want you to consider your authenticity.  Are you giving unquestionable evidence that what you say you are is really what you are when no one is around to see your behavior and choices?  Are you genuine, or do you find that you "cloak" your failures behind some form of mask?  You know, the only time we really begin to grow is when we take those masks off and begin to live out the truth of our choices.  The truth sets us free and opens us to healing.

What are you running toward?  Is it genuine, authentic community?  Or is it some phantom that plagues us in the night?  Oftentimes, the direction we "run" is determined by the runners we choose to run the race with!

Authentic people

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
   before you were born I set you apart...

(Jeremiah 1:5)

God wants us to be authentic.  There is nothing more disappointing than to see someone trying to be something they are not.  Try as they might, when what they are trying to be is not authentic, it just is not convincing.  We are uniquely made - fashioned for a specific purpose.  We have unique talents - mine do not match yours and vice versa.  Even identical twins have a unique make-up of personality, temperament, and talents.  So, why is it that we are often struggling to be something that we are not?  It is really quite simple - we have never accepted our unique make-up!

In my youth, I had the opportunity to attend a week-long seminar on learning what God intended in our creation.  One of the most important things that I grasped from all that was taught that week is the uniqueness of each human.  Not accepting that unique way we are made is really a complaint against God!  We are saying we know better than God - that he did not create us as we should have been created.  It is kind of like Adam looking God in the face and announcing that he only sinned because of the woman God made for him!

To understand the unique call (purpose) of our lives, we need to understand the make-up of our souls (our mind, will and emotions).  We often find answers where we least expect to find them - when we examine the right stuff!  It is when we stop focusing on what we see as "wrong" in our lives and begin to focus on what God sees as "possible" through our lives, we begin to get a revelation into the purpose of our make-up.  

For example, if I went through life trying to be the best used car salesperson in the world, I would fail miserably. First, I do not like sales that much.  Second, I really don't have any desire to talk people into buying above their needs.  Third, I really don't like being out in the public's face all the time!  But...when I explore how my mind works - analytical, organized, deliberate - I begin to see the possibilities God has created.  When I explore how my will is directed - focused, determined, and structured - I see even more possibilities. Add to those the way my emotions are formed - reasonable, not reactionary, balanced - I begin to get a picture of what my make-up really is.  

I begin to see that I can function well in a couple of different areas - a good leader (balanced, fair, organized); a structured teacher (analytical, organized, focused); a reliable friend.  The list could go on, but I think you might get the picture by now.  I did not have to go to a lot of classes or spend months in counseling to figure this out.  I simply asked God to show me my make-up.  Ask him to reveal how your mind functions - what is it that you seem to get the very first time someone explains it; what comes naturally for you when you first see it.  Rely upon him to show you what it is that you have a will to do, to be involved in.  But...don't forget to ask him what emotions are both your strength and your weakness.  Learning what we are strong in is important - but also learning what we have a weakness toward can keep us from many a wrong pursuit!

Authentic people please God!  Learn what it is that makes you authentic and step out in the freedom of being who you really are!