Spiritual Authenticity– Close The Gap

Sanctification, the process of our growth into Christ, is very difficult: it entails the radical transformation of our stubborn, old selves into our new selves which must now make conscious choices affecting every aspect of life- from the way we spend our time and money, to the company we keep, to the objects of our concentration, to the things we hear and see, and so on. In this process, our hearts, minds and bodies are the theater of an intense and relentless battle between flesh and Spirit. “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Gal 5:17.

One area in particular in which this struggle takes place is that of doing the right things with the right motives and attitudes. Doing what is right when our hearts and minds are not set on pleasing our Triune God as our primary goal, draws attention to ourselves and promotes us as being individual champions of virtue. This sindrome!! is known as “spiritual showmanship”, a tendency to seek the recognition of man and to strive for placement in positions of authority. The practical outworking of this in the life of the church is the protection of our own will and the promotion and of our own way. Our involvement depends on the affirmation of others which in turn increases our (self -) motivation to attempt more so that more praise would be heaped on us. The very sinister characteristic of such an attitude is that we could do it all without others knowing, at least readily, the real motives driving our actions. The danger with such a person is simply this: he is inconsistent. He makes flash in the pan suggestions and shines forth for a while but then he falters and fades away, drifting into frequent spurts of inactivity, grumbling and even eventually abandoning his covenant community. He is as unstable as water.

On the other hand, when our attitudes and motives are rooted in the consuming concern to please Christ our King, we’ll seek to bring into subjection every thought, word and deed, private or public, to glorify him. When we do so, we are practicing and demonstrating spiritual authenticity. Here, we are guided by an eternal perspective, setting our minds on things that are above and not on the things that are on earth, Col 3:2, and seeking to do the will of God from the heart. Here, our chief desire is the eternal praise of our Lord saying “‘ Well done, good and faithful servant, ..”‘ Mt 25:21, and not the fickle praise of men.

Spiritual authenticity shows a congruency between what we truly believe in our hearts and the way we live our lives. It bears an unshakable trust in the Lord and is never self-promoting but always Christ-preferring, Christ-proclaiming and Christprojecting. I charge to us all today is simply this: let us close the gap between what we believe and how we act. Let us demonstrate authentic spirituality. Let us close the gap!