Be real.

Over this past summer and even presently I'm learning the importance of being a genuine person. I've also been learning how hard that can be especially in the world we live in today. Have you ever noticed that we live in a robotic world.

                        We kinda act like my friend over here  ----->

Don't worry I'm not trying to get all science fiction-y on you but let's look at something that most of us experience on a day to day basis...

"Hey, how are you?" - {person A}

"Good! How are you?" - {person B}

"Good." - {person A}
{person A & person B walk away}

Have you ever thought about how strange that "conversation" is? I am so incredibly guilty of this - asking people how they are without even having the slightest care about how they are actually doing and I myself claim that I have it all together. That's just one example of being fake. There are many others like:

*Flattering others with compliments in order to gain their approval or favor.

*Claiming to be all together and happy when really you are broken inside and too proud to admit it.

*Putting on the "Christian spiritualness" mask just to cover up your sin and struggles.

*Being a carbon copy of someone else that you think has got it all figured out.

Hey, we all do it. Including myself. But why do we do this? We so desperately crave the approval of man that we will go to any means to attain it - even if it means falsifying our words and actions. We fear that our vulnerability will cause others to think less of us. Ultimately we desire to be praised and anything that will taint our reputation is considered a threat and in order to remedy this we fight for high status.

Do you know what that's called? Prison. 

We are prisoners to ourselves. Prisoners to these standards we have created and deem as the only way we can be approved in the sight of God. The truth is...ready for this? We're not perfect! We have problems. We have struggles. We have bad days. We have bad weeks. Some of us even have bad years. But you know what? God still loves you. This love doesn't change. Romans 5:8 tells us this // "but God shows his love for us in that while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us." The problem is, we go about life, tiptoeing around everyone else, trying to make sure they don't find out we're not perfect. Newsflash - anyone who knows the gospel of Jesus Christ, knows you're a sinner. I'm not saying keep on sinning because that's what you're going to keep doing anyway while you're on earth. No, pursue righteousness, pursue holiness, pursue godliness, but do it all out of a genuine heart that seeks to honor God.

Here's something I have to tell myself on a daily basis:

Stop putting on a front, and find who you are in Christ. Stop trying to be like someone else who you think has got it all together and "be imitators of God, as beloved children.." (Eph. 5:1).

Stop being a robot and be real.

melody