In Front | Workbook: Being a Representative and Being “Authentic”

Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

Part of what makes this message so difficult for those of us living in Western societies is the connection we make between “being ourselves” and “authenticity.” We tend to feel that denying ourselves or changing how we live for the sake of other people is a form of self-betrayal or “inauthenticity.” We can become obsessed with our own identities and worship our impulses to the point that adjusting our behavior for other people might feel like “faking it.”

Paul’s not asking us to “fake” anything, though he may be asking us to act better than we feel, and to live with a preference for other people in mind. He wants us to turn our hearts outward and live for each other. He wants us to be ourselves, but not the selves that we are without Christ—in our flesh. He wants us to become our sanctified selves—authentic, imitators of Christ who are united to Him. 

5. When has someone in your life accepted your weakness, and “hung back” with you in a difficult time and helped you through? Who might you be called to make similar concessions for today?