Unapologetically Authentic in an Uptight Society

We don’t often realize what truly inspires us.

“Aren’t you scared?” Over and over that question lingers on my tongue, haunting my thoughts, tainting my words.

I thought that when my friend joyfully danced in a foreign country on the side of the river where anybody could see her.

I wondered that when another friend shared her differing values on social media.

I questioned that when I saw someone befriend a lonely individual who wasn’t accepted by everyone else.

I believe that every time I edit a Bible verse out of a public message, nod and smile when people assume I’m agreeing with them, and gloss over details about myself in order to appear as “normal” as possible.

Living bravely enough to be genuine to yourself may seem like the backwards approach to getting away with justifying your choices and flaws and hypocritical gestures as simply “part of your faith or personality”.

But being courageous and being critical are two very different things.

Criticizing others for the sake of feeling right is the opposite of living into who we are meant to be. Consider, for a moment, that you are wrong.

How hard is it to admit someone else might be right? That someone else will always be more right than you–God. The Creator of all, who is the only Knower of all. Who will always know more than you. And me. And all of us. (Thankfully)

Being courageous means standing up for the truth. Being willing to risk your reputation, your people-pleasing abilities, and everything else for the sake of being authentic.

At first, authenticity might seem antiquated. It’s just so easy to conform. To give up a dream, change the script, not recognize yourself in the mirror because you don’t like what you see first thing in the morning.

What we are lacking most in the world is authenticity. We can’t trust anyone anymore because we are so afraid of being cancelled or exposed or mocked. We live into the question, “Are you afraid?”. And if you aren’t, shouldn’t you be?

But God doesn’t want us to live in fear. He wants us to be so confident in who He made us to be–loving, compassionate, bold, honest, and curious–that we aren’t afraid to show others who we really are.

Yes, you might have strange hobbies or odd friends. Yes, you might not hold the same set of values or opinions as your neighbors. Yes, you might be laughed at, uninvited, or ridiculed for the beautiful pieces that make you you.

And, you will have parts of you that need to be transformed over time. The rough edges smoothed out until you become a new person. But not a person copied and pasted from the latest top celebrity or even humanitarian. The person God created you to be.

When you do everything with a heart for God, when you are never trying to hurt others but always trying to help them grow, you will be doing the right thing.

It isn’t about having the right set of beliefs about what people should or shouldn’t do. It isn’t about knowing all the answers or never having a doubt.

It’s about being so full of gratitude for the gift of life God gave you that you can celebrate by embracing your unique characteristics and skills in a way that serves the world.

Isn’t it remarkable that we have this opportunity?

At first, when I watched my friends make these risky decisions, I experienced second-hand embarrassment. The world tells us to be ashamed of ourselves. The world beats us down to the ground until we don’t know how to dance or speak for ourselves or notice the overlooked.

But then, something sparked in me. Inspiration, you could say. And to me, that’s the best gift (after salvation itself) that God grants us.

Maybe it isn’t too late to be myself after all. And if it isn’t too late for me, then it certainly isn’t too late for you.

So go out there and live unapologetically authentically. The world needs the real you. ❤

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15