A Life of Authenticity

Written by John Grant

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

The world is full of people pretending to be someone they are not. Such people are not living a life of authenticity, a term used to describe the degree to which one is true to their own personality, spirit or character, despite external pressures.

Living a life of authenticity is not easy especially for Christians who are confronted with a pagan world and encountering external pressures and influences, which are often very different from our Christian beliefs.

You are capable of living authentically. You have the ability within yourself to stay committed to your core belief system, but it often is not easy. Your core values must be higher than your desire for social acceptance. You have the power to live courageously. You had the wisdom to live peacefully. You have the discernment to choose properly.

Broken Trust

2 Samuel 12:8-9

I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.

The life of King David was filled with numerous triumphs, conquests, and successes. He single-handedly took down Goliath with a sling and a stone. He wrote many of the psalms from which we find comfort in our times of difficulty. He presided over the nation of Israel and was considered by many to be its greatest leader.

David also learned a harsh lesson about the importance of trust. While sitting on his rooftop one day (when he should have been at war), he saw Bathsheba bathing and sent for her. This act led to adultery, the murder of Uriah the Hittite, and a cover-up of the whole situation. Only when the prophet Nathan confronted David about his actions did the king ask God for forgiveness. However, the Lord did not let David off easy. The child he fathered with Bathsheba died, there was a constant threat of murder in his family, and his son Absalom caused David problems until he was killed in battle.

Establish Habits for Spiritual Growth

Rick Warren.
“So we continue to preach Christ to each person, using all wisdom to warn and to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature person in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28 NCV)

The most practical and powerful way to get believers headed in the direction of spiritual maturity is to help them establish habits that promote spiritual growth.

You cannot talk about character without talking about habits. Character is the way you habitually act. For example, if you are honest only part of the time, or if you are honest only when you consciously choose to be honest, you cannot claim to have the character quality of integrity.

Why Parents Lie to Let Kids Join Facebook

By PEGGY ORENSTEIN

It’s been clear for a while that parents lie about their children’s ages so they can join Facebook. A survey by Consumer Reports published in June found that there were 7.5 million users under age 13 (the site’s threshold for membership); more than 5 million were under 10. Over the year leading up to the report, a million children said they were harassed or threatened on the site.

But cyberbullying is not why kids are supposed to stay away. The legal reason for the age limit is to protect children’s privacy. Facebook collects personal data from its users — lots of it. The site’s whole purpose is to erode the concept of privacy, to make public everything about you, not only for the benefit of your 622 BFFs, but to customize your advertising or use your endorsement of a product (through the “like” button) to sell it to a friend.

Don’t Be the Devil’s Fool : Why God Hates Lying

by Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell, AiG–U.S.

April Fools’ Day is here, and while it is not a national holiday, many people around the world celebrate the day with practical jokes. The bounds of social pressure confine most tricks to the good-natured and harmless, and most of us use the day to innocently have a good time with our friends. Nevertheless, the time seems right to briefly explore the subject of foolery and lies.

History and literature offer a number of tidbits relating to the day, with Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in Canterbury Tales being a fourteenth-century contributor. In the tale, Chaucer—the first man to eventually be buried in the Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner—retells the fable of “Chaunticleer and the Fox” set on March 32—which of course is the first of April. The tale involves not just falling for a lie but doing so due to pride—a lesson that should make us pause to think about every gullible person from Eve to the one in the mirror.

God hates lying. Why? The serpent’s deception of Eve led to mankind’s rebellion, which brought a curse upon the world God created. The result was untold suffering to those He had made in His image. The serpent deceived Eve into doubting God’s goodness and then lied as he accused God of being a liar. Man was made in God’s image. God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). Therefore, man was designed to be truthful, not deceptive.

In stark contrast to God, the devil—in the words of Jesus—“was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). All suffering—from the first thorn-prick to the murder of Abel to the Crucifixion of God’s Son Jesus Christ—all of it began with a lie. No wonder God takes lying seriously.

Integrity is a major issue in all areas of life as practical people try to determine whom they can trust. The world watches believers for inconsistencies in their words and behavior. When we stumble, unbelievers get an inaccurate glimpse into the character of God and they seek to justify their own sinful behavior.¹ Romans 3:7 explains that even if a lie were spoken for God’s glory, it would still be a sin. “For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?” In 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul lists lying along with other reprehensible behaviors that are “contrary to sound doctrine.” Finally, Revelation 21:8 lists “all liars” among those sinners who—apart from the grace available through Christ’s blood—merit punishment in the lake of fire.

Titus 1:2 clearly states God “cannot lie.” Assertions to the contrary can be resolved by a careful study of the text, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). We always need to see what the Bible actually does and does not say, lest we, as Alfred Edersheim warned, be guilty of “elaborate trifling with the most sacred things.”²

Not only is lying foreign to God’s holy nature, but the original lie in the Garden of Eden had horrible consequences that led to man’s sin and the need for Christ’s sacrifice. Integrity and trustworthiness make you the sort of person people trust, rely on, and respect. But if you begin playing loose with the truth, those who know and love and even respect you—like your spouse and children and coworkers—will forevermore wonder if they can rely on what you’re saying.

Just a white lie? Jesus spoke of being trusted with small things before being trusted with big ones. He trusts us with many opportunities to get in the good habit of telling the truth. At the same time, we will be building a reputation of truthfulness and trustworthiness. But if we’re in the habit of using little lies of convenience, we will have little conviction holding us back when it “really” counts.

Lying is such an easy sin to slip into. Hebrews 12:1 warns Christians to lay aside “the sin which so easily ensnares us.” Furthermore, remembering that God “cannot lie” (Hebrews 6:18), we as Christians should strive to “be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). As we seek to please the Lord Jesus Christ whose blood has bought us, and to show our Savior to the watching world, we should all ask the Lord to help us cultivate the habit of gracious honesty and integrity. So when the fun of April Fools’ Day is over, don’t let the devil’s subtle tricks make a fool of you.

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Footnotes

1. For example, see my articles on Abraham’s deceptive statements before unbelievers and the unintended consequences that followed, Feedback: Did Abram really lie? and Feedback: Were the Plagues on Pharaoh Because of Abram and Sarai Unfair? Back
2. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 3^rd edition copyright 1886, printed by Hendrickson Publishers of Peabody, Massachusetts, page 466 of Book III. 

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2012/04/01/april-fools-god-hates-lying#continue