Hope Road

Authenticity (Part 2)

Welcome back to our discussion on authenticity! You can read part 1 here.

On Saturday, I wrote about the first problem I see with the way being authentic and real is misused in the church today: inappropriate emotional intimacy and lack of boundaries. And the second way is more subtle and something that I have been guilty of many times: using authenticity as an excuse for staying in sin.

As I said, this misuse is extremely subtle. Your heart will trap you in it almost before you know it’s happening! Here’s a fictional example: Carrie enjoys reading Vogue and Glamour and other fashion magazines. Not only does she enjoy them, she knows in her heart that they cause her to place a lot of unhealthy emphasis on outer appearance. She knows that she is not able to read them without them having an affect on her perspective.

So under the guise of being vulnerable, she tells some of her closest girlfriends about her “guilty pleasure.” “I just love those magazines. I know they’re not the most wholesome reading for me, but I enjoy them so much!”

Yet what does she do after this admission? She mentally pats herself on the back for being so real with others, yet she continues to enjoy her monthly subscriptions and to allow them to focus much of her attention on the reflection in the mirror and the numbers on the scale.

Authenticity does not mean that because we’re admitting our messiness to others, we can be comfortable with it and not attempt to do anything about it.

So what does it mean? That’s what I’ll be talking about in Part 3. Join me back here on Thursday very soon!

3 Comments to Authenticity (Part 2)

carrie
October 17, 2007

Anna,

Thank you for leaving an idea on my post “Thinking outside the toy box.” I received so much great inspiration!

Authenticity is a compelling topic–I look forward to reading your 3rd entry.

Lindsay Mayer
October 18, 2007

Have you ever considered writing a book?

Anne Jackson
October 18, 2007

I have been LOVING these posts…thank you!!!!!

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