As we continue to elaborate on the topic of, ‘Are You Real With You?’, lets first reiterate what this is. Often times you hear people use the term, “I’m real with myself” but my question is, by who’s standards? If the standards in which you are being real with you are created and generated by you, you will always live up to those. What if we took a more spiritual approach oppose to the logical one we have been judging life by? If this was done, your entire scale on how you measure “being real with yourself” would completely change. Many times our “real scale” is based on the things that happen around us. In Colossians 3:2 (ESV) it says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” If our standards are set by what we expect from people or how we see people here on earth, then we will miss the mark of really being real with ourselves in Christ.

There are many people who have a spiritual background or upbringing that has been swayed by the way the world sees things. Take for example a person who is completely supportive of one biblical principle but doesn’t exercise the others. They may not smoke or be a drunk, but they may be in support of (what they call today) “shacking”. Although the thought of initial sin may not be present, it doesn’t remove the fact of potential sin or someone who promotes a lifestyle that completely goes against what God stands for. Sometimes we base what God may think on the circumstances. If the circumstance produces sin then God will always be against that. Promoting something that offends God is like wearing a jersey with another teams name on it but still feeling like you are on the same team. Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” That “way” of thinking or living refers to us living by our own standards. How can you expect a supernatural outcome with a worldly way of thinking and living? It’s not in how close we think we are to Christ but in fact how close we actually are to Him. Lying to ourselves won’t get us things here on earth so how can we expect the same to get us into heaven. Being real with yourself is a constant conviction. Its not allowing one area of your life to be compromised by a logical thinking that goes against the principles of God. Its either you are with God or in front of Him. In James 1:8 (NLT) it says, “Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” If you stand for things that are offensive to God but say that you follow Him, does this mean only when you feel what God does matches what you are doing? Christ hasn’t changed, we have.

I understand that life sometimes gets hard and even the day to day living but God says in John 4:24 (ESV) “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Just saying you are a child of God has never and will never be enough. Its in the way we worship, in the way we live, in the way we talk, in the way we give, in the way we pray, in the way we act, in the way we stay and also where we are spiritually in our lives. The enemy’s job is to confuse you and keep you far from the truth as possible so in order to serve and follow Christ you must learn about Him and His principles. Don’t be confused with being real with yourself while offending God in the process. There is no greater love than the love that Christ provides for His people. I challenge you today, to ask God to reveal to you “areas” where you need to change and improve but allow Him the lead in the restoring process. For our help is in the Lord!