Do you, like me, have a severe dislike of hypocrisy? Are you highly suspicious of those who present as perfect suspecting that you might not be getting the whole truth? Those of us who belong to a religious tradition often feel like we need to compensate for out private flaws by denying to others (and to ourselves) that they exist. We cling to an erroneous idea about ourselves and actively promote it to the world thinking the whole time that we're doing God a favour. After all, if we the chosen can't get it right then how are our righteous ideas going to be attractive let alone credible; right? Wrong.
Recently a friend was in a quandary. Having done something he was ashamed of, should he suppress it as best he could or admit it to those affected and possibly discredit Jesus who he openly professed to follow. The right way is often the hard way and this friend chose to come clean which was by far the best approach- the honest approach. The voluntary confession proved to those affected that he was truly contrite as well as a man of integrity. He benefited as well; receiving their forgiveness he learned about grace and the courage he showed went to character growth.
True religion, or the religion that we should be aspire to is not pretentious. It doesn't pretend to be that which it is not. It still holds up ideals which drive self-improvement but it does not lie. In fact the pretence we often adopt in the interest of protecting the good name of God does more harm than good. Most of us can smell pretence well before we meet it and we either shun it or we are infected by it - both are bad outcomes.
Shakespeare always impressed me for his write characters I could identify with - each had their warts plainly visible. Hamlet for all his moral certainty upon discovering the truth of his father's murderer vacillates between madness and genius triggering the suicide of Ophelia and causing the accidental slaying of her father. Likewise the bible is chock full of imperfect souls used by God in the most extraordinary ways. Take David for example; his Shepard-boy faithfulness kills Goliath when an army failed, becomes a great King, writes the psalms (an inspiration to Jews and Christians alike) but also commits adultery and sends the woman's husband to a convenient death in the front lines of Israel's war. Jonah needs a whale of a miracle to illicit obedience. The great Apostle Peter; first fisherman, then disciple (the rock on which the church is built) denies Jesus three time when it counts most. Thomas doubts, Paul kills Christians before seeing the light. These are the heroes of many who profess a faith in Christ and few will argue that their lives were ineffectual with regards the Kingdom of God yet the religious of us think it better to present to the world as perfect.
1 Corinthians 1: 26-31
"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.""
It's not because we have it all together that we are able to receive God's grace. We recognise the need for God's grace because we haven't got it together and we receive grace as a free gift flowing from the sacrifice Jesus made two thousand years ago (give or take). Paul writes to the Corinthians that not only is their imperfection not an impediment but that it resulted in them being chosen by God to reveal the perfection of the Christ.
What if we chose transparency instead of the pretence of perfection? What if we welcomed all people equally into our troubled worlds (and let's admit that we all have them) and continue to hold fast to the hope we have in Jesus? I know from experience that a transparent life has the affect of drawing in people not driving them away. We all love a genuine person or if we can't have that a genuine moment. The openness that this step of faith (letting the guard down) engenders becomes a tendon of relationship which strengthens like a muscle with use. The relationship becomes the vehicle by which Christ reveals himself to the other, through the revealed broken life.
2 Corinthians 4:7
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
The ignoble jar of clay, used for everyday purposes in fact contains a treasure of immeasurable worth. Letting someone close allows them to find the treasure for themselves. In this life, the jar will always be made from clay and no amount of effort on our part will make that jar be made of anything else. Representing our clay jay as something other than clay only works if everyone is kept at a distance - closer inspection reveals the jar for what it is. Pretence dissuades access to the treasure that is Christ revealed because it alienates us from others. But the openness, the embodiment of love, reveals Christ at work despite our flaws and his redemption on which we all depend.
Let's face it, we will not be perfect this side of heaven - let's not pretend to be.
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