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Toward Authenticity

If you're like me, you're tired of putting on a show, speaking the Christian lingo, playing a part, and feeling like a hypocrite. I don’t want to impress anyone but God. I want to bring my words and actions in line with my heart. I want to live a life of authenticity because I know that a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

But knowing my own heart is difficult. How can I know what is in my heart? This is an important question, and one that will help us a long way toward authenticity.

In Matthew 12:34, Jesus says, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” An easy way to know what’s in my heart is to observe what comes out of it. Artists are fond of saying, “The eyes are the window to the soul.” But biblically, the mouth is the window to the soul. 

When you read this, join me in observing the overflow of your heart, namely, your words. Over the course of this month, focus on what you say and how you say it. The Bible devotes many verses to the power of the tongue, the lips, the words that we speak. Consider the many ways the mouth can be used for healing or harm, but start here: Am I complaining?

The purpose is not to set up a legalistic standard by which you can commend or condemn yourself, but to expose and reveal the depravity of your heart. Seeing your sin more clearly is meant to drive you to Christ, which is the best place you can be. Let’s live in the light of the astounding truth that we live in God’s favor because of Christ’s sacrifice. Authenticity is born from the realization that, in the words of Tim Keller, I’m far worse that I thought, but more loved than I could imagine.

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