I’ve seen too many people live with this kind of facade where all they do in front of other so-called “Christians” is live a lie.

I found this video on Vimeo earlier today and really liked the metaphor in it for Christians.  I’ve met a lot of so-called Christians who put this perfect front up that everything is fine when things in their personal lives are really screwed up.

• They may go to church like a regular couple on Sunday, but minutes before they walked through those doors they were ready to kill each other. The show continues till they get back in the car.
  
• They avoid talking about that relative who molested another family member because they fear being rejected by their family for opening up about the “family secret”.
  
• They struggle with private sins and habits and don’t ask for help because they fear that they will no longer be accepted in the church if it were to become known.
  
• Worry about looking and acting perfect has taken a toll on their lives, their stress levels and their faith.  They don’t know who they are anymore.

I’ve seen too many people live with this kind of facade where all they do in front of other so-called “Christians” is live a lie.

What happens when we become authentic in situations like these?

… when your pastor confesses that he still doubts at times?

… when your worship leader admits that he has a drug problem?

… when your youth pastor’s wife leaves him for someone else?

… when your teenage son or daughter tells you that they are going to be a parent?

Oh, we say we want authenticity.

We say we are seekers of the truth.  But how do we respond when people show that they are in fact marred by sin and regardless of position or pay, still in need of forgiveness and the hand of God working in their lives.

I remember there was this song we used to sing in children’s ministry when I was young:

He’s still working on me to make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be, He’s still working on me.

How often we proclaim our perfection and refuse to let Christ work in our lives!