Drop the Mask.

I preach grace and mercy. I talk about being patient. We should be long-suffering with those around us. However, I’ve not always practiced what I preach. That’s called spiritual hypocrisy. And Jesus admonishes us to live in a consistent way so that his Name is glorified in all we do.

Brennan Manning said, “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

See, hypocrisy is not the disparity between what we do and what we wish we did. Hypocrisy is the gap between what we show and who we are. It’s the difference between public persona and private character. Jesus didn’t want the show, he wants real discipleship.

In Greek culture, a hypocrite was a stage actor…someone who wore a mask. So both Jesus and Paul remind us we are not to be “actors” when it comes to following Jesus but real, live disciples who are fully committed to pursuing the life Christ has called us to live.

Social media is the perfect breeding ground to create this kind of life. We post on our social media accounts everything we want the world to see and nothing we wish to hide. So we post amazing quotes about marriage but sleep in different bedrooms. We talk about how awesome our life is when in reality, we are suffering from isolation, loneliness, hurt, and depression.

Did you know we actually hold the key to our freedom? Jesus gave it to us. The writer in Proverbs 28:13 says, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Confession is the key. If we are real and authentic, we unlock ourselves from the prison.

So if hypocrisy is the gap between what we show and who we are, how do we close the gap? Well, we don’t close it with perfectionism. We’ll never be good enough to be perfect. So, we close the gap with Jesus. He is our perfection. He is our savior and our healing.

So let Jesus do the healing. Let him be our redemption. Let his heart forgive us. Allow him to be the source of power in our lives. Blessings on the journey.

Trying to Live the Flawless Life?

I’m wound tight. My personality likes to look like I’ve got it all together…that I’m “perfect”. When I fail, I’m really hard on myself and I certainly want to hid my short comings. Our social media world only worsens that kind of personality. Every picture posted on any of my social media sites screams, “Wouldn’t you want to be like me?” And Scripture doesn’t help either.

Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount, “Be perfect just like my Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Wow! How do I live up to that? I end up putting unrealistic goals on myself. I perceive unrealistic goals from those around me. I perceive what God wants me to do in my life and I fall short.

Trying to look flawless though is just a cover. You see, there is a spiritual side to this seemingly psychologically-bound personality. The real issue is, I’m simply trying to cover my deepest insecurities, my deepest fears and my own sinfulness.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 that no one can ever be “made right” with God by trying to be perfect. So how do we move forward in our life? Paul continues in verse 22 by saying, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.”

When I trust in Jesus to be my Savior, my perfection, I can let go of me trying to be perfect. Because of Jesus we can walk in freedom, embrace his grace, and live unburdened. With Jesus, the pressure to perform has been removed. So, because of Jesus…

We get to choose people over our perfection. It’s all about relationship rather than “getting it right”. Equally because of Jesus, we get to choose love over a perfect performance. Remember that trying to look perfect is simply a cover for our deepest fears.

But didn’t we start out be saying Jesus called us to be perfect in Matthew 5? In the context of that verse, Jesus is talking about love. Jesus is calling us to love everyone completely and maturely. We don’t just love people we think deserve our love. We are all-inclusive of our love, just like our Heavenly Father. We love on those who love us but also those who speak poorly about us, mistreat us, are mean to us and disrespect us.

You and I will never be perfect. My assignment as a disciple of Jesus is not to convince people how good I am. My assignment is to tell the world how awesome our God is!! It is all about Jesus!! So let go of faking how perfect you are and let your life scream how perfect our Heavenly Father has been to you. Blessings on the journey.