Fake's Aren't Real
"She asked God to remove everything fake from her life. Now she’s bald headed ain’t got no eyebrows, short lashes and her purse is missing!" I saw this on social media and it reminded me of when my girls were little and we would go to New York. They always wanted to go to Canal Street and get the fake, knock off designer purses. They were so proud until a week later and the zippers would break!
Look at your church, each and every person sitting in those rows are human and we ALL have temptations, weaknesses and personality flaws. Let me go ahead and say, authentic Christians sin; Jesus is the only sinless human who walked this earth. 1 Peter 2: 22, "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth."
An authentic Christian accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior so the Holy Spirit lives inside of them. When true believers sin, they are convicted by the Holy Spirit and live a life of repentance. Matthew 7: 20, "Therefore by their fruits you will know them." Because of this their actions show the fruit they bear. Galatians 5: 22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."
Insecure people often put on a fake persona to be accepted, respected, or admired by the people they think matter. As Christians, we know this is wrong but it is an easy temptation to fall into. We need to be real and seek authenticity in others. If you are being put on a pedestal, as the saying goes, there is only one way to go: down. If you are admiring or idolizing someone you will be disappointed. 1 Timothy 6: 6, "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." We need to ask God to remove any inauthenticity from us, creating a clean heart in us.
"Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy."
- Rick Warren