There's Got to be Rhythm: Practice Authenticity

If a man is going to have any semblance of rhythm in his life at all, he’s got to get real.  Being real isn’t a response to Dr. Phil.  It’s trying to live a life of authenticity, one in which we are transparent, open, and honest about ourselves.  It’s about living our lives in such a manner that our warts show, one in which we don’t try to hide them.  It’s about being the real us regardless of the circumstances, good or bad, which affect our lives each and every day. 

Being real is a tall order.  It’s not always easy, especially when it comes to our brokenness.  It’s not easy to acknowledge that we are screw-ups, or that we have messed up bad.  It’s hard talking about the sin in our lives.  It is something we don’t want to talk about to anyone, right?

Why is that?  I suggest that we are our own worst enemies.  We are harder on ourselves than anyone else is.  We may think that our sin would blow “our cover”—that persona we have tried so hard to create for others to see.  We may think that we are the only one within our circle that does “that”.  Our sin might just be such a habit that we just know that the cycle cannot be broken, no matter what we do.

Here’s the deal men--let’s start with the premise that God knows all of our sin, every little bit of it.  Being real and being authentic is to know that God loves you in spite of that sin.  Being real and authentic isn’t in hiding behind the façade you have so carefully crafted.  It’s in being honest and open about yourself with those with whom you are close (a small group is an excellent example).  It’s in trusting that just as you would help them through their sin, they would help you through yours, and together you would hold each other accountable as each of you grow.

It is through authenticity that we become real men.  It is through being real men that we become free, fully free, to grow and become the men we really want to be, the men Christ would have us become.

Bottom Line Thought:  Is the sin in your life one of your stumbling blocks to freedom as a man?  Is the façade you have created a stopper?

A