Real vs. Fake

How can I tell what is real? Is it what I see? A magician makes a living by making people see things that aren't there or not seeing things that are there. Kind of similar to special effects people who are expert at tricking the camera and the eye into seeing something that is fake as if it is real. The military has spent years, since WWII, trying to hide facilities, people, and vehicles from easy detection, even though those things might be in plain sight.

We even hide the real intended meaning of what we say by disguising it with a certain tone of voice, or using certain words or phrases that are often used in other ways. Or we hide what we're feeling by pretending other emotional expressions.

The thing is that what is often presented as reality is intended to hide what is really real because of fear. Fear that something will be found out or that the true intent will be misunderstood or even that the truth will cause a retaliation in kind because the truth isn't really all that lovely, nice, or even friendly.

Take manners, for instance. A behavioral code that is really designed to cover a multitude of "sins" regarding what is said and done in everyday life. Manners advocates may not openly admit to a standard of putting on a false face when something untowards is done to you or you are faced with a dish that is unpalatable, but it is the very construct that dictates specific behavior under certain circumstances which means that we have to hide what we really feel or think under the pretense of being a person of good manners; someone who treats everyone with a proper respect regardless of the circumstance.

The truth is the real me is often not very polite, loving, lovely, presentable, etc. But it is that real me that God knows and loves, the same me that I so desperately have desired to escape my entire life. That is the same me who finds Jesus going to the cross for him, not some pretend "me" that is perfect at acting like whatever someone thinks Jesus would act like today.

Previous Comments:

All very true and frustrating until you remember that you are a vessel made
for a noble purpose and that until He returns and sets ALL things in order, you
will be a work in progress. And as a work in progress, we will make those
inevitable blunders that will throw us off balance at times but the good news is
that He knows our hearts and the motives behind our actions or sometimes our
inactions. Reality is only found in Jesus Christ and His word says that we are
one in Him as He is One with the Father. I stopped worrying about what others
thought of me and put my focus on keeping my eyes on Jesus and what He was
saying to me. I find that with my focus on Jesus, I tend to be more tolerant of
others. Thank God because I sure need others to be tolerant of me a lot more
than the other way around! Relax and enjoy those that He has surrounded you with
and let Him "worry" about what's real or fake! Pleasure "talking" to you.

Posted by: Art at August 31, 2003 08:05 PM

Art,

For me this is more an issue of understanding that it isn't a
better me that Jesus loves and wants to be with. It is the same me that is ugly
sometimes and feels that he must somehow hide his "nakedness". It used to be
that this me felt like he was tossed out of the garden like Adam and Eve, but
now I can see that in spite of my actions, I am continually held in a wonderful
embrace by my God. So, my discussing the real vs. the fake isn't so much whining
about what people think of me, but more of an understanding that it is the human
nature in me that puts forward a fake appearance trying to hide the blemishes,
putting on fig leaves if you will, when the reality of the old dead "me" doesn't
even phase God.

Posted by: HarryTick at August 31, 2003 09:30 PM