don’t replicate authenticity, practice it

I’ve wanted one of these purses for a long time.

I’m talking years.

But fiscal responsibility, with a large twist of frugality, has always been the name of the game for me. I’m a sucker for a good deal, and I don’t mind holding out for a bargain.

And so purchasing a handbag that’s worth a few months of our mortgage payment has yet to settle well with my conscience or logic.

Until I found one on a Facebook garage sell group for a fraction, I’m talking 10%, of the original price.

I messaged the seller, excited to claim the handbag as my own. Finally, all my waiting had paid off. The gorgeous leather, the shape of the bag, the color – all of it, perfect!

“I’m so happy you like the purse. Just so you know, it’s an original quality replica, but it’s so good that you can’t tell the difference.”

Maybe not, but regardless, I knew the truth.

And the truth was that I still wouldn’t own the authentic handbag I’ve been holding out for. Rather, I would own one that was pretending to be the real deal, so I passed.

God’s people, after observing the cultures around them, believed they needed a king. As if being governed by the Creator of the Universe wasn’t sufficient, it seemed only right to them that a flesh-covered man do the job instead. And so God gave them their heart’s desire - Saul.

He looked like the real deal. Tall, strong, handsome, a warrior. But when push came to shove, it was clear that while Saul replicated authenticity well, he wasn’t the real deal.

God had a different man in mind.

The youngest of eight brothers. A shepherd, of all things. And when the prophet Samuel went to Bethlehem to anoint David as the new king, God reminded him, “the Lord does not look at things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

How tempting it can be to replicate authenticity rather than practice it. To build ourselves up in a way so that on the outside, it appears we have it all figured out. Our lives are tidy and neat and managed so well so that others fall for the scam.

Sometimes us included.

But God, He isn’t duped by outward appearances. With how well we’ve groomed and maintained ourselves. With the brands we’re wearing or the model of cars we’re driving. God isn’t fooled by the sizes of our homes or the neighborhood in which they exist, as if such things actually prove a worthy life or fruitful character.

It is the heart, my friend, that is His primary concern.

Because the heart has the ability to latch on to idols, leading one away from God, or to surrender in humility and draw one closer to God.

It was the defining difference between David and Saul, after all. One was a man after God’s own heart. The same can’t be said of the other.

By our fruit, will we be known.

And by our God, every square inch of us is always known.

Created originally. Purchased sacrificially. Let us then, dear friends, live a life of faith authentically.