For Real?

Authenticity has always been important to me. I like to see people for who they really are, when their guard is down and their masks are off. I think in this American culture we live in we can find many facades to hide behind. It’s just too easy to be someone you’re not. Our culture says that our career defines us. Our house defines us. The kind of car we drive defines us. They way our children behave defines us *snort*. I could go on and on but basically the American picture of “success” defines us.

But is this who we really are? When we’ve had a long day and are worn out and tired; when our house is a mess and the breakfast dishes are still in the sink; when our kids are fighting and whining; when our spouse is on our last nerve, when our job sucks and we think that God could care less about our situation; who are we really at the end of the day?

We are exactly the person that God loves and wants to know. When we are raw and weak and feel like punching God in the face, we are the person that God wants to talk to and use.

Shiny, happy people dressed in their Sunday best with (assumedly) perfect lives aren’t doing us any favors. People who hide behind the reality of their hurts and struggles and fears actually do a major disservice to the God who created them, who wants to use their brokenness to reach a fallen world. The Apostle Paul said, “If I have to brag, I will brag about how weak I am. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.” Galatians 6:3 says, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Be real. Be honest. Be yourself. If we are real and authentic and talk about our struggles and weaknesses, it gives others hope that God can use them too.