Striving for Authenticity
Published Apr 12, 2022
By Beth Macco
At age 18 I decided in the chapel building of my college campus I would strive for a life of
shameless authenticity. I was naive and inspired at the time, not realizing the risk involved with
being raw with people, even those you do not know well. Still, I was motivated. I knew living
authentically was less effort than keeping up masks. I would read in Scripture and see the God
of the Israelites struggle with frustration, immense love, regret, and hope. Reading on in the
Bible and I’d see God’s people, chosen and famous, struggle with anger, pain, warrior like faith,
and more. Why wouldn’t I embrace the freedom of emotions, acknowledge the struggles and
successes of life, and feel safe doing so? Yet authenticity is hard to find even within the most
intimate of relationships.
Some of us do not live authentically because we lack the effort. We don’t really want to answer
more questions if we dish on what is really going on. Or, maybe, we fear being misunderstood.
The bride of Christ celebrating diversity in individuals, thought processes, beliefs, and choices
sounds more like a political position than a Kingdom act of worship. We act as if we are
responsible for God’s reputation and don’t want to jeopardize what others may think of us as
believers, or Him if we can’t fully explain ourselves. We end up like Encanto’s Louisa, stuffing
our emotions and succumbing to the pressure of our own ideas of what life should be or social
media’s portrayal to our “friends”. What we end up doing is performing for an audience and
draining ourselves completely of real support and relationship.
What would life be like if we had eyes to see the freedom that comes from living authentically
with and in front of others? Fewer lies to uphold, less effort to keep track – these are appealing.
Maybe we would have more time connecting with God rather than crying out to Him because
we’re so drained. My 7 year old son has a difficult time expressing himself. On the outside he
appears to have it together most days. On occasion I can hear him from his room grunting,
yelling, and even thrashing around. Eventually he’ll descend the stairs red faced and weary.
“How can I help you, my son?” He may give in and allow me to intercede, but most of the time
he stomps away and moves on whether or not the issue has been addressed. We do this with
God, our Parent, all the time. We pull up our boot straps, we accept pain, we ignore our issues
and “move on”. Many times all of the effort and struggle could be prevented if we simply were
honest with ourselves and God, asking for help. Part of being authentic means you are
dependent on Someone else. As adults, that is often times too big a pill to swallow.
Why do we resist being authentic? What motivates you to hide, withdraw, withhold? I would
argue it is most often driven by our desire to be accepted. We don’t want to be the needy
friend, the draining neighbor, the sloppy one. News flash – you are. We all are! I believe our
culture’s resistance to authenticity is rooted in the sin of idolatry. We desire others’ approval
and affirmation more than our Maker’s. We would do anything to withhold our true messes in
order to uphold our own reputation. Too extreme to call it sin? Press on. God modeled
authenticity. He does not hide Himself, even the parts that confuse people. We should do the
same. The opposite of authenticity is deception – lies – and in my Bible the Father of Lies is
God’s enemy and I will not be a part of deception. Hell no.
In the end, like most things in life, we have a choice. We can live with a clouded perception of
ourselves and give off a fuzzy understanding of what we really live through or we can be
authentic. We can risk misunderstandings and reject independence in order to better honor the
Lord. We can choose to foster true community by being fully ourselves, even if it sacrifices a
few “friends” along the way who may struggle to embrace us. Authenticity’s reward is far
greater and lighter than what is commonly offered. Hm, that sounds familiar. “My yoke is easy
and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30) God requires nothing but you. Why do we allow others to
demand more of us than the Creator of the Universe?
