Being Real

I recently read a blog post that made me take a look at how I respond and portray myself to others. Here is a brief snippet from that post. Please visit Amy's Humble Musings to read the rest of her thoughts.

"The path of the Christian who carries her cross is difficult (in whatever occupation she finds herself, motherhood isn’t the epitome of hardship), and I don’t do anyone any favors by pretending it isn’t. It is better to say, consider the cost. It is better to say, it is only by grace. It is better to say, I am weak and the Lord is strong. I don’t do anyone any favors by hiding my failure and sin."

It is so important to be real with others, but sometimes it’s just so much easier to pretend we have it all together. However, by pretending we're something we're not we actually deceive and discourage others. No one wants to be around someone who’s perfect.

Not only do we deceive others by our mask of perfection, but we deceive ourselves. As it says in Galatians 6:2-3, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself."

I've heard this concept of being real with others referred to as the blessing of mediocrity. Letting others see our shortfalls allows them to relate to us and accept their own limitations. Only once we have acknowledged our weaknesses can we seek to overcome them by the strength of God given to us through the Holy Spirit.

So, the next time you're tempted to pretend like your life is perfect, remember that the person you're talking to might really need to hear that someone else has bad days when the laundry piles up, and dinner gets burned; days when plans fail and expectations are disappointed. Decide instead to be real and to encourage by making yourself vulnerable, only then can we truly bear each other's burdens and help build others up in the image of Christ.

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike