There's nothing we love more than someone showing us our faults. Am I right? You can probably sniff the sarcasm oozing from that first line! We all HATE when someone tells us something that we probably know. We also can be mortified to be told that something we thought we were doing well at is completely wrong.
Case in point: A few months ago, my personal trainer showed me how to do shoulder presses with free weights. Since I only see him once a week, and we often will switch up the routines, it wasn't until maybe a month later that he told me I was doing it all wrong. What? All wrong? But you showed me how to do this! He laughed and commented that it was no wonder I could lift the weights so easily--I wasn't working the right muscles! I was a little discouraged at that point. Ironically, it actually took another month or so until I learned to do shoulder presses the right way! It shows you how coordinated I am!
Why is it, though, that we hate being told we're wrong? Why is it that we have the tendency to make excuses or deny things, when in actuality, the other person is right? Of course it comes down to our pride. I'd venture to say, though, that it's also such pride that is our culture's Achilles heel when it comes to sharing the g0spel and following a "re1igi0n."
When we look at the magazines, the TV ads, the TV shows, the music videos, what do we see? Ask any teen girl, or likely many women for that matter, and many would say or imply "perfection." When girls and women strive to look attractive, they compare themselves to these women on TV. These air-brushed, plastic-surguried, make-up done, extension-wearing women are our models for beauty, and when it comes to our own idea of beauty, we're not content because we're not like THEM. Yet at the same time, we'll comment on the air-brushing, we know they have hair dressers and make-up artists at their beckon, and we know that we shouldn't hold those women up as perfection because, let's face it, it'd be impossible to have J-Lo's body. We strive for perfection, knowing in the back of our minds that it's not actually possible. There's this odd dichotomy of fake perfectionism and reality.
Let's take a more painful look at fakism, now. What does an average person think about "re1igi0us" people? Most people I've spoken with would say that they are fake. They say one thing, but do something different. They claim to be perfect, yet they condemn other people. And when you look at history and the re1igi0us people on TV, you have to admit that they don't all give a good name to re1igi0n or chris ianity. What the world sees is a bunch of bigots who yell at women who are in sensitive times of their lives (pregnant), tell people that they're going to he11, and use re1igi0n as an excuse to make themselves feel better and more h01y.
The question that I have had to ask myself is: "How am I living? Am I fulfilling the culture's expectation of what a re1igi0us person is, or am I living a life filled with grce?" At first, I thought that I shouldn't let my guard down when sharing my Story. Aren't we supposed to show people we're strong so that they will want to also have a Story? Who wants to be weak? Shouldn't I act perfect? The irony is that most people seem to appreciate real people, not fake people. It could be because we don't have to compete with the looks of a "fake" person, but really, I think it's because the world is not as it should be. There are difficulties, and no one should minimize or deny the difficulties, the pain, and the suffering. If you sugar-coat difficulties, you end up with a half-baked, fake g0spe1 that people don't want to hear. They don't want to be condemned by "perfect" chris ians, and they don't want to hear that the real difficulties are nothing. In a fake world, many look for authenticity--in actors/actresses, politicians, and yes, "re1igi0us" people.
So we need to strive to not be "prefect," or rather, to show our imperfections. The exciting thing is that G0d says that it's in our weakness that He is strong and made perfect. I love reading the prophets, because in many of them they are nervous about serving, but G0d says to not be afraid, that He will use them in their weakness. The key is being vulnerable enough to expose our imperfections.
The cool thing is that G0d gave me an opportunity to speak with someone about this. For a long time, he lumped all re1igi0ns together. Finally, the eureka moment came when I commented that he thought I was weak, and that actually, to be a chris ian, you had to admit you were not perfect and weak. I'm not sure what will happen with that, but I do know that that was the first time he had ever heard that We were not supposed to be prideful. I told him that if someone was judging and condemning him, then they did not truly understand what the Story meant. Because it's not the well who need the doctor; it's the Imperfect.
*In view of going censorship and in preparation for going overseas, I will be mispelling/abbreviating any re1igi0us terms. If you comment on the blog, please either do the same or avoid using re1igi0us terms.
