Authenticity
By Susan Klein
“Be imitators of
God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as
Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice
to God.”
Ephesians
5:1 (NIV)
Truth
in advertising is a safeguard enforced by the FTC to protect the consumer. The
“real” seal was created to let the consumer know the dairy products they are
purchasing are authentic. Marketers cannot claim something is real if, it in
fact, is made from artificial ingredients. That said, they have formulated a
creative use of the English language to tout their products. For instance, if
artificial vanilla (or vanillin) is used in a product they can legally claim,
“real vanilla flavor,” because the
flavor tastes like the real thing
but they cannot claim, “made with real vanilla.” Buyers beware! It takes wisdom
and discernment to decipher the somewhat misleading labels on our purchases.
As
Christ-followers, we are called to live an authentic life in-Christ. In several
of the apostle Paul’s letters, he speaks of what we once were before Christ and
what we now are in and because of Christ. Once we lived in darkness, not
knowing the truth, but now we are in the light, sanctified and transformed by
our gracious heavenly Father through His Son. We are to authentically live out
the message of Christ in our lives. Yet, I know that isn’t always the case for
me. I fear sometimes my packaging can be misleading to those who are trying to
read me. I advertise a really great product, but don’t always deliver what I am
touting.
Jesus
says in Matthew
5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be
thrown out and trampled by men.” We’ve
all been in situations where our purchase did not meet its expectations and
ended up in the trash, never to be purchased again. If we are offering
something less than real, others will disregard us. They will learn not to
trust our claims. We are called to authentically season the lives of others
with real salt, not a salt-substitute!
When
I say I’m going to pray for someone, I want them to know beyond a shadow of a
doubt that I will. If I encourage someone to trust Jesus with their difficult
circumstances, I don’t want them to see me whining when my life gets tough. I
want my life to proclaim authenticity, to be stamped with the “real” seal.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. In what areas might you be proclaiming
something less than authentic?
2. What steps will you take to be more of an
imitator of Christ?
FURTHER
READING:
Susan enjoys
teaching Bible studies, writing, and mentoring. She and her husband, Mark
co-lead an on-site small group studying 1 Corinthians with Oakwood's Wednesday
Night Community.
