Preach
Nobody likes a fake. Even in our airbrush culture, we despise counterfeits and crave authenticity. Everyone wants to be real. If you want to tell someone, be authentic, and you want to be up to date with slang, then you say, “Keep it 100”, which means keep it 100 percent, as in keep it 100 percent authentic. If you’re keeping it 100, you’re keeping it real. You’re authentic. You’ve got integrity. You’re being true to yourself. Who you are on the outside is who you are on the inside. You’re not a faker or a poser.
Not that we do it here or in our kind of church, but there are churches where folks would possibly get inspired by the message at some point and say out loud to the pastor so everyone would hear, “Preach!” Or “Preach it!” You know, as a way to participate in what’s going on and encourage the speaker to speak the truth, to bring the word, to keep it 100.
Nobody likes a fake, but too often that’s what some Christians says we’re supposed to be to be true Christians. But it’s wrong. I know this can sound strange to some people who think Christian faith means we’re supposed become more like Christ. But you know, Christ is already taken. Let me put it this way: There are two kinds of Christians, or rather two kinds of Christian faith: Either your faith tells you must be like someone else to be a Christian or your faith tells you must be yourself to be a Christian. Either you’re supposed to be copying someone else to be good in God’s eyes or you’re supposed to be fully you to be good in God’s eyes. This is a big difference. One group says we gotta go back in time to keep their faith alive today because that’s the only faith that matters, the only time and the shape of things that matters. The other group says we need to be authentic to what is today and what God is today. If we keep looking back, we can’t see today, see what is and what can be better.
Let me give you my answer as to which one is the true faith and the way God wants us in our Christian faith to be by saying this: A Hasidic Rabbi by the name of Zusya famously said, “In the life to come, they will not ask me, ‘Why were you not Moses?’ They will ask me, ‘Why were you not Zusya?’” Nobody could say it better than this.
Psalm 15:1 asks, “Who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?” Then it answers: “Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart.” We generally associate integrity with those who have a strong moral compass, clear and consistent principles, and a bold honesty about themselves. They don’t fake themselves to others and don’t deceive themselves to themselves. They care about how they feel about themselves on the inside. They try hard to make their self-respect mean something to themselves.
They’re not always rewarded for this, but sometimes they are. I love this story. In ancient China, the emperor was growing old but did not have a successor. He wanted to choose one of the many children in his kingdom so that he could start training them to take the throne when he passed away. So, he sent out an announcement to all the families to send their most capable child to the palace. On the morning he specified on the invitation, the palace walls contained over a thousand children and their parents, eager to earn the favor of the emperor. He came in front of them and spoke loudly and clearly:
“I will now give each of you a single seed. It is your job to take care of the seed as though your life depends upon it. Come back to the palace precisely 8 months from now, and the one with the best and most beautiful plant, as judged by myself, will become the successor to the throne.”
The children eagerly lined up and received a single seed from the emperor, all varying sizes, shapes and even colors. The last in line was one little boy, who clutched the precious seed in his fist and ran all the way home to bury it deep in a pot with soft soil.
As the months went on, each child carefully watered their seeds and watched them grow. Saplings sprouted leaves, flowers, and even branches. Some grew even taller than the child it belonged to—but the little boy, try as he might, could not get his seed to sprout. He changed the soil, added all kinds of fertilizers, even tried watering it with milk instead. But all to no avail. When the 8-month mark came, he was the only one in line with a barren pot, and no plant at all. When the emperor finally came to him, he looked down in shame. “I couldn’t sprout the seed,” he whispered. But the emperor only smiled thinly and moved on.
When all the plants had been inspected, the emperor stood in front of the crowd and spread his arms. “I have a confession to make,” he said. “The seeds I gave all of you were burnt and covered up to make them look healthy. They were not meant to grow at all.” While all the other children and parents gasped in shock, the emperor smiled at the little boy. “Because you were the only one who did not buy a plant instead of following my instructions exactly,” he said, “you are the only one with enough integrity to succeed my throne.”
Integrity and honesty are never a gimme for anyone. But in today’s world, where image is so much, where selfies and Instagram and Snapchat can be produced in a moment and then disappear or be redone, the surface seems to matter more. Appearances can seem to be what’s real or what important. But there’s no room at the surface for self-respect because there’s no self to speak of at the surface. How can you have self-respect if you don’t have a self who cares about it?
Integrity is the drive we all have to make sure we are right with ourselves, that I can value myself, that I can live with my choices and my actions, words, and even thoughts. To have integrity means not to have remorse. To keep to my values means to uphold my value. To respect my view of what’s important is to respect my God-given right to follow what is important.
If you have integrity, you’re going to stick out from the crowd at times. If you have self-respect, you’re going to risk losing something tangible for something intangible. If you decide to follow your conscience, you’re going to have to wait on your own until you receive your reward for doing the right thing. If you want to keep it 100, you need to be willing to keep to your ideals, your hopes, your principles. Is it worth it? Absolutely. One very wise person said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Carl Jung
The truth is scripture is filled with some amazingly individualized, very authentic, and real people. Jesus said, “God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Those were three different people. God was the Lord of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and his sister Miriam, Jesus and his mother Mary. They weren’t all the same, nor did they try to be like someone else. Paul didn’t try to be Peter nor Peter Jesus. We’re not supposed to be anyone but ourselves.
Our scripture reading at first glance makes it sound like we’re all supposed to be the same. “Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart....” Everyone is supposed to follow God’s law and we will all turn out the same. We will be good people, obedient, faithful. One after another. This is not what is meant here.
Scripture is best and accurately understood as placed in the middle of human living and struggles. What I mean is that when scripture talks about obedience to commands or loving the law or faithfulness to God’s decrees, it does it against the backdrop of so many having made such messes of their lives that they can’t find their way out. They’re lost and confused. They’re having a hard time finding their path out of the forest of mistakes, lies, lack of integrity, lack of compassion, lack of wisdom, the lack of strength, direction, and purpose they’re living in.
Having integrity and doing what God says is right isn’t a mold which makes everyone come out looking the same. God’s directions and commands are there to be followed because they save us from the same mistakes or from making even bigger ones. It’s like if you had fallen in a well and someone threw you a line to get out, you would hold on for dear life. The same if you got lost somewhere and someone showed up with a map. You would read it and let it guide you out of there. As verse 105 declares and clarifies, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
God is trying to help, not harass; bless not box in. Scripture is there to help you get a handle on life’s incredibly complex and complicated array of problems, challenges, and distractions. This isn’t about trying to make everyone the same. This is about the Lord wanting us to be happy and blessed, not lost and confused.
I like the story about a dad and businessman who said to his daughter, “Always remember that there are two things that will ensure your success in business.” “What are they?” she asked. The businessman said, “Integrity and wisdom.” “Integrity?” “That's right. No matter how it may be to your detriment, no matter what your colleagues or the board may say, always keep your word once you have given it.” “And wisdom?” she asked. “Don’t be dumb enough to give it,” he quickly responded.
If we’re going to be our best, we need to be those who keep our word. You promise to exercise more; get out of debt; pray or meditate more; spend more quality time with your family; follow your dream career instead of plodding along working for someone else in a dead-end job; start a new hobby, etc. But somehow it just never seems to happen. Get real with yourself. Take decisive actions to make good on your vision.
Be willing to confront problems when they ought to be taken care of. Speak up even if others aren’t going to agree or perhaps listen. A person of integrity listens to others but must stick with her or his own principles and values. Believe richly in your value. Respect yourself profoundly.
The privilege is ours to become who we are, in God’s sight, by means of his everlasting grace, according to the Lord’s merciful will.