Some of the most inauthentic people in this world are Christians. Yes, you heard me right, Christians. I am not in any way trying to be mean. I say this with a lot of love. But from my perspective, Christians are the experts at knowing how to put on a good act. We love pretending like we’re something that we’re not, hiding behind masks, and trying to cover up who we really are. We can be some of the best actresses around. Better than what Hollywood could ever put out. And since I am a tad bit biased, I’m going to take a leap and say that Christian ladies struggle the most with this. We seem to love the facade. Just look at Facebook. 

Suppose you are willing to be honest and real. In that case, you know that the majority of us Christian ladies are living inauthentic Christian lifestyles. I see it all the time, and honestly, it is me from time to time. I know I slip in and out of inauthenticity every day, more times than I can count.

But what is this, and why do we tend to fake our way through the Christian life?

You and I have been conditioned to believe that the Christian life is all about who can LOOK and ACT LIKE they are perfect at being a Christian or who has the least flaws in their life. But, to LOOK and ACT LIKE a perfect Christian, and to LOOK and ACT LIKE we have the least flaws, we have to perform. And when we perform, we’re being fake.

Let me introduce you to performance-based Christianity. It’s when we put on a good show and act spiritually like we’re something we’re really not to make others believe that we have arrived. Our outward appearance is polished. We have the right look, say the right things, carry a Bible, serve in ministry, and we’re faithful to church; we have all the makings of a “spiritual-looking” Christian on the outside, but the reality is that on the inside, our hearts are far from God. We’ll fool everyone with our stunning outward actions and appearances.

Ladies, we can become spiritual actresses when we get caught up in the pressure to perform spiritually. If I pretend that I’ve arrived spiritually, then I can conceal who I really am and what’s truly going on in my life. No one will know I struggle. 

We all do it all the time. We hide the depression and anxiety, the failing marriage, the deep sin, the negligent prayer life, the hurt from a wayward child, that thought life, lust, greed, bitterness, the lies, and I could go on and on. 

But what does hiding and being fake really do for us? It is the most exhausting way to live because you will never be able to keep up. I know, because I was living that way years ago. And sometimes, like I stated above, If I’m not careful, I can slip in and out of performance-based Christianity from time to time.

But, at that time in my life, I wanted to appear to be more spiritual than I really was. I had a position in the church and I wanted to be liked and accepted by others. I wanted others around me to think I was living a victorious Christian life. That I was “so godly” and a good role model. But I wasn’t godly or a good role model. As a matter of fact, I was empty. I had been operating under a facade for so long that I didn’t even know how to be real. 

Enter Phariseeism. When I think about us Christians and how we struggle with performance-based Christianity, I think about the Pharisees during Jesus’ day. The Pharisees in the New Testament were the spiritual leaders of their day. They were always putting on a “spiritual show.” No one would dare question their spirituality or their authority. People looked up to and admired them and assumed they were close to God based on their immaculate appearance and award-winning performances. But the Pharisees were proud and self-righteous. They were good at putting on religious shows and impressing others with their outward righteous appearance that everyone except Jesus was fooled. He knew their hearts were desperately wicked. Oh, they looked good on the outside, but on the inside, their hearts were far from God.

Jesus was bold and confronted the Pharisees regarding their hypocrisy because He was more interested in their hearts and what was real about them than the spiritual show. 

This is us. We are just like the Pharisees, self-righteous Christian ladies who spiritually perform day in and day out, hoping to impress others with our outward religious show, pretending to be more than we really are, and becoming comfortable with being fake. It’s pride. And it is destroying our lives. It robs us of joy, keeps us in bondage, and paralyzes us from living out the truth of the gospel. We are not authentic.

But we don’t have to be this way. We can break free from this lifestyle. 

First, we must develop and maintain a personal relationship with God. Growing in our relationship with God is the process of becoming more like Christ. By having an intimate relationship with God, you and I can live an exciting, prosperous, powerful, fulfilling, authentic Christian life. When we walk with God, in the light, the light begins to expose us. This is the pathway to authenticity—no facades, no masks, no performances. 

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – I John 1:7-9

When we are walking with God, we can be our authentic selves with God, others, and ourselves.

Second, realize who you really are. Listen, we all struggle with sin. This is no secret. The Bible spells it all out for us. 

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. I John 1:8

There we go. We don’t have to hide or pretend. The Scriptures already tell us our business! We sin. I’m not saying that we need to air our dirty laundry to the whole world. I’m saying we need to stop acting as if we have arrived at sinless perfection. Name one person—one Christian lady—who doesn’t struggle with sin. We ALL do. Christians struggle with pornography, adultery, fornication, gossip, lust, pride, envy, jealousy, hatred, prejudice, drugs, alcohol, finances, abuse, etc. That is real life. From the least to the greatest of spiritual women, we ALL struggle with some sort of sin. Christian ladies who live authentic Christian lives know they’re not perfect. However, when they sin, they quickly admit it, repent, and get right with God. 

Third, always ask God to show you what’s in your heart. We should do regular heart checks. If you make time to go to the doctor for your regular exams so you can stay healthy, then make time to ask God to show you the dirt in your heart so you can stay clean, and healthy. That’s hard to do. None of us naturally likes to be told something is wrong with us. But, if we are intent on staying dirty, we’ll never ask God to search our hearts. If you want to be authentic and know who you really are, you’ll ask God to search your heart.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24

Fourth, understand that God has not called us to be fake. Charles Spurgeon, a nineteenth century preacher, once said, “Appear to be what thou art, tear off thy masks. The church was never meant to be a masquerade. Stand out in thy true colors.” Authenticity is important to God, and we must learn to live authentically daily. If God expected authenticity in the New Testament, He still expects authenticity today, even in our imperfections and flaws. This is why He allows for repentance. Surface-based Christianity does not impress God. We are not here to impress people. We’re here so that God can gain glory from our crazy, messy, and chaotic lives.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: -Psalm 51:6

So, let’s be honest with ourselves. Are we for real, or are we successfully faking it? Could there be areas of our lives that are nothing more than an award-winning performance?

Is our external image more of a concern to us than our internal- our hearts? 

Are we professing God with our mouths and worshipping Him, all for it to be in vain because our hearts are far from God?

Are we doing all the things that make for a victorious Christian life—faithful church attendance, reading our Bibles, praying, serving in ministry, giving, helping others, being kind and compassionate, etc., yet, we’re still empty?

Do we have an intimate relationship with God?

Let’s drop the facade. We don’t need to perform spiritually to be accepted and look impressive to other Christians. That is not what the watching world needs to see or what our Christian peers need to see. What we all need to see in each other is what’s authentic about us: we don’t always get it right. We struggle with sin- pride, gossip, unkindness, prejudice, bigotry, stealing, lying, adultery, lust, fornication, rebellion, etc. Our marriages aren’t perfect, our kids aren’t perfect, and our lives aren’t perfect. We get depressed and have suicidal thoughts. Some of us suffer with anxiety. We’ve been through trauma and abuse- some sexual, some verbal, some physical. We’ve had abortions. Many of us have anger issues. We fight and argue and divide our families and churches. WE ARE NOT PERFECT CHRISTIANS.

However, if we let God work in our lives every day to mold us into the women He’s called us to be, then, by the grace of God, we can be perfecting Christians. Now that’s what’s real. That’s what’s authentic.

I pray that today, you are motivated to let go of the popular, fake, performance-based Christianity and step out and embrace a real, authentic Christian life by pursuing an intimate relationship with God.

Love and hugs,

Terrie

I’m not perfect. I’m perfecting.