I love this video and the question that it asks, “Who are you really?”.
Are we being authentic?
I think that unfortunately many of us fall into the trap of trying to be who we think others want us to be. What the video highlights is what can happen when we are all pretending to be someone who we aren’t …
If I am honest with myself, and with the readers of this blog, being authentic as a missionary is challenging!
Being Honest and Authentic as a Missionary
I don’t always want to admit when I am struggling. When I am unsure or wavering in my faith of where God is leading me, or what He is asking me to do, I usually don’t want to admit it. There are expectations that I feel people have placed on me, and struggling with hearing from God and understanding clearing what He is saying to me is not one of them!
Although I know it is unfair to think, but I often feel like there are higher expectations on me as a missionary to be able to hear and obey God’s voice. Often I feel like I am under a microscope. Like the men in the video above I try to put on the “super spiritual” persona of someone who is constantly sure of what God is saying and where He is leading.
Unfortunately though, like many of us, I struggle with hearing God’s voice and times and knowing where He is leading…
I am not perfect.- I don’t stand unwavering at all times in my faith…
- I struggle…
- I hurt…
- I doubt…
- I fear…
But I press on, trusting that if I stuff up God will be there to catch me. As I walk in obedience and submission to Him and His will for my life He will be there to defend and protect me.
The Challenge of Humility
Even though God doesn’t want us to have that intimate of a relationship with anyone other than our spouse God still desires us to be humble and authentic before Him and others.
God opposes the proud
but shows favour to the humble. (James 4:6)
So, how about you, do people know the real you, or the image and / persona that you want them to know???
One harsh reality is that when you risk being authentic in some cases other Christians will shoot you. Some people want you to keep up your facade so that they can keep up theirs!Friends who will love you even though you are an idiot are a rare and valuable thing.:-)
JonDavisJr We found this to be especially true when we moved to Calgary. It was a real struggle and some of our friends didn’t seem to want to deal with the fact that we were struggling and they cut us off completely. It was hard to realise that some people couldn’t accept that we were different than who they thought we were and actually did have struggles that were different than theirs.I also feel that people don’t want me, as a missionary, to be authentic. I realise that it is probably mostly me and my own expectations of how I think others think I should be, but I feel that if I am not “on top the world” with my life following God that I am somehow disappointing others…
People don’t realize there are more expectations on missionaries than someone who works a regular 9-5. This is a good post Bill.
SamWerner Thanks Sam. I’m glad that you found the post resonated with you.