Authentic Living

10-11-2010
Authentic Living by Boyd Bailey


“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” Psalm 32:2

Authentic living is real living. You are a bona fide believer in Christ. You are a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. Your faith commitment is unquestioned. You are the real deal. In your life what you see is what you get. Pretense and guile are a distant memory for you. There is nothing counterfeit about your character. This is authenticity.

Authenticity does not mean you are without sin. On the contrary, authenticity means you confess your sin to God and others. People don’t feel intimidated by your holiness. Rather, they feel encouraged by your transparency. You are a fellow struggler, daily dependent on God’s grace.

Death to self is a moment-by-moment choice in your life. You have not arrived. You are just getting started. The more you mature in your faith, the more you feel the need for maturity in your faith. People may look to you as a good example, but this humbles you and scares you. You are not proud of any good thing in your life.

Goodness comes from God—He deserves the credit— but you recognize God’s blessing for what it is, and you are very, very grateful for His goodness. Your authentic living is like a magnet. Others are drawn to your openness and honesty. There is not a deceitful bone in your body. You recognize and admit that without God and people in your life, you would be much the lesser person.

This authentic attitude attracts not only good people but great people. Great people do not want to be around perfect people. Instead, they want to hang out with others who understand their own weaknesses and even smile about them.

Authentic people know how to laugh at themselves. As they get older, they take themselves less seriously and they take God more seriously. When you admit to your blind spots, people understand better how to support you in your weakness. Instead of people thinking less of you for your admission of weakness, they believe in you even more. Authenticity feeds respect, while deceit harvests disrespect.

Nonetheless, authenticity begins with God. Because God is 100% authentic, He expects the same from His children. There is nothing at all deceitful about God. His Word is His Word, true and everlasting. You can trust His promises. There is no need to try to hide from God. Your authenticity with the Almighty tells Him what He already knows.

This disarmament is more for you than for God. It is a relief when you can lay down your struggles with anger, lust, gossip and greed. Concealed sin is the issue. Cover up and you are unable to come clean with God and others. He knows what you are hiding and, if the truth be known, so do others. The truth will escape from your finite grip. He is looking for those authentic followers whom He can bless even more.

Authentic believers are blessing receivers because they are truth givers. Yes, it is wise to be discreet in your transparency with others. A good start is to say here are my weaknesses, what others do you see? This authenticity will free you and free others to be the Body of Christ—supporting, encouraging and holding each other accountable. Be authentic as He is authentic and, as a result, we will all experience the real thing!