Authenticity. Being real.
Authenticity. Being real. It’s easy to understand what this is, but it’s real hard to live out, isn’t it??
As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend. Proverbs 27:17 (NET)
Authenticity. Being real. It’s easy to understand what this is, but it’s real hard to live out, isn’t it??
As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend. Proverbs 27:17 (NET)
Men are real good at talking about cars, sports & our jobs with each other. We get passionate about of favorite team, our favorite car & even the favorite part of our job. And when we get together with other guys, we can spend lots of time talking about this and other surface stuff.
And while it’s good to be able to talk this stuff through with others, how much time do we spend being real, getting real with each other? How authentic are we with other men about our lives, our struggles, our failures?
As a pastor, I’m intentional about being real with other men because I realize that growth is impossible without it. So when men come to me to confess their own sexual struggles & failures, I share how my own struggle with pornography started in my pre-teen years and how I’m intentional about fighting this temptation in my life today. When men come to me and talk about losing control of their temper, I talk about the work God’s done in my life in helping me get better control of my anger & the steps I’ve taken to grow in this. When men come to me and share how they struggle with same-sex-attraction, I share how I struggle with heterosexual lust & how God has called us all to live lives if sexual purity.
In doing this, I had someone tell me that as the Lead pastor of the church, I should not be sharing these “personal” details with so many. I told him that I couldn’t disagree more because being real is more important than “protecting my reputation.” I shared how my wife knows my struggles, so she prays for me in these areas…and more. And I shared how my accountability partner knows these things in great detail and regularly question me about all of this…and more.
And then I shared my rationale in sharing this stuff with so many. It keeps me humble, and God promises to lift up the humble. It models authenticity & gives me the chance to encourage all men to be real with each other. And most important, it gives everyone in my church the permission to be real & to keep it real…because spiritual growth is impossible without this.
So how are you doing with all of this, men? Are you being real with yourself? Are you keeping it real with others? Do you take the time to develop these types of relationships in your life? I hope you do, because spiritual growth is impossible without it.
