What does it mean to be authentic? I was on an out of town trip recently, and met a couple who were so authentic it almost shocked me. I liked them almost instantly, and knew very quickly that it would be very easy to become close to them. They weren't telling deep dark family secrets or delving into the gory details of their struggles. But there was a realness in their interactions, an un-forced nature about their whole selves. Yet they carried authority. Their words carried authority because they seemed to be coming from a life lived sincerely. In the short couple of hours I interacted with them, I noticed several things:
1. they were careful not to reflect poorly on others in conversation
2. they spoke of their own accomplishments as simple facts, not as if they gave them any more or less value.
3. they knew how to laugh at themselves
4. they were honest about their own struggles
5. the seemed sincerely interested in getting to know us - they were good listeners
6. it was obvious that they were extremely invested in belonging to Jesus
I know that impressions can be misleading, but it is almost scary to me how often a "sense" about someone turns out to be true (whether for good or evil...).
It has made me even more determined to be the real deal. I want to:
- Listen until I think I have listened well, then listen more.
- Laugh at myself
- Laugh with others
- Carry titles and accomplishments very lightly
- Be marked by the law of kindness on my tongue.
- Be immersed in Jesus first, before anything else.
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