Stop Posing. Secrets are Draining.

Living authentically is something I would guess most of us long for.  But the truth is that many people don't! The fact of the matter is that many people live with secrets. There is often a valley between who we portray ourselves to be and who we really are when no one else is looking. Sadly, sometimes it is more of a canyon than a valley. 

Speaking from experience, secrets are draining!  They zap the life out of you. They take the wind out of your sails. Maintaining a false image of the real you takes a lot of energy and focus...becuase you don't want to slip up and give a sneak peak of the real version of YOU. 

Look, I want to share something with you and I hope you hear the heart in it....

The more authentically you live, the more energy and life you will have inside your heart. I have found that the more I live out of the real core of who I am and not the fake me I want everyone to see, the following things happen: 

1. Relationships stop consuming as much energy and start producing it.
2. My conscience feels clean, so my eyes can look clearly ahead. 
3. My sense of security goes up as I realize how much Jesus loves me...the real me...my crap and all. 

Can I encourage you to look honestly at yourself.  Do you have multiple versions of yourself to keep up with?  The "you" you want others to see and the "real you"? Or are you living whole...with integrity? I really believe that the more you close the gap between the public and private YOU and the more you renounce secret and shameful ways, the more God will blow the roof off of your life and use you for the Kingdom. 

Keep real! Don't pose.