As I wrestle with the risk of being more authentic, I'm struggling to find the line between authenticity and faith.
I grew up in churches filled with happy, plastic Christians.
They answer "How are you?" with "I'm blessed!"
They don't admit to being sick even when they are, saying instead that they are "healed in Jesus' Name!"
And though I can't judge their hearts, it always seems more fake than faith.
It seems like denial.
And hypocrisy.
The implication is that if things aren't going well with you, it's because your faith just isn't strong enough.
And that's crap.
But things can get out of balance the other way as well.
Under the banner of authenticity, a lot of people are just plain negative.
They complain. A lot.
They're always responding to "How are you?" with far too much information. They let it all hang out, even at times when they "shouldn't".
And they just chalk it up to being real.
So how do we balance faith and authenticity?
When is it time to be honest about where you're at and when is it time to speak words of faith?
Talk amongst yourselves.