Don't Fake It

From My Perspective - - -

Reality and Integrity are two worthy aspirations. Most people are weary of the façade approach to life and the inability to be straightforward in responses. If one asks a politician a “Yes” or “No” type question, it seldom is the response. There is usually several sentences shared and the point of the question is obscured by intentional vague rhetoric.

It is interesting to note in an editorial comment by Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal Online for August 08, 2008 – Political Cycles – where she states: “…Mr. Obama got tagged the past month as something new, not the candidate from Men's Vogue but arrogant, aloof and somehow ethereal. There is no there there…The daring and exciting European trip was probably a wash, and possibly a mistake in the bridge-too-far sense…Mr. Obama consistently shows that he doesn't know what he doesn't know. It's a theme with his talented, confident staff. They don't know what they don't know either. Because they're young and they've never been in power and it takes time to know what you don't know. The presidential-type seal with OBAMA on it, the sometimes over-the-top rhetoric about healing the earth and parting the seas. They pick the biggest, showiest venue for the Berlin speech, the Brandenburg Gate, just like a president, not realizing people would think: Ya gotta earn that one, kid. Going to Europe was fine, but they should have gone in modestly, with a modest venue…”

Peggy Noonan is allowing that people are hungry for Reality and Integrity – not Public Relations success stories, or showy events, or rhetorical performances. While Ms. Noonan has been employed by Republicans over the years, her analysis seems balanced. Her summary statement would apply to all evenly, when she notes: “Does he have real greatness in him? Or is he, say, a product of the self-esteem campaign, that movement within the schools and homes of our country the past 25 years that says the way to get a winner is to tell the kid he's a winner every day? You can get some true people of achievement that way, because some people need a lot of reinforcement to rise. But you can also get, not to put too fine a point of it, empty suits that take on a normal shape only because they're so puffed up with ego.”

The statement – “empty suits that take on a normal shape only because they're so puffed up with ego” – is an apt summary for all too many. If in the midst of personal ambition, we could get across a basic premise for life – DON’T FAKE IT! – it would bring refreshment to many because the road of Reality and Integrity would be viable once again. The impression that people have regarding a cross-section of professions in this country is negative. It was interesting to read on the Christian Post Website yesterday about the Jury Selection for the trial of Victoria Osteen, where a potential Juror echoed the thoughts of others when she said, “I don’t trust preachers – they all lie!” One must ask: Why do people feel this way? What has happened to cause their disillusionment and negativity? Who/What has proven to be their defining moment? Did they observe a “preacher(s)” more focused on self-adulation rather than focusing people upon Jesus Who they should love with all their heart, soul, strength and mind?

It is obvious that one’s life must be lived with a particular commitment that reflects the great benefit for one to implement Hebrews 12:1-3 (NLT), “since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith (Hebrews 11), let us strip off every weight that slows us down - the sin that so easily hinders our progress….We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish…We should be more disciplined in terms of how our lives are lived so we do not become a stumbling-block to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Our lives must direct the attention of all to Jesus Christ Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He IS the reality – He IS the Integrity for which people seek.

Consider these things with me – and let us walk Humbly and Modestly with the Lord God!