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The Lord has told you what is good,

and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

(Micah 6:8)

Most can snuff out a religious phony coming a mile away. Few odours smell worse! But the sweet fragrance of authenticity…there’s nothing like it.

After I entered the Marine Corps, they sent me 8,000 miles from home to the island of Okinawa. When I got the orders, I thought God made a mistake. In hindsight, I realize He was shaping me for a lifetime of pure devotion to Him.

I met a man there named Bob Newkirk who represented the Navigators. He became my mentor.

One rainy evening, I travelled to his lodging where Norma, his wife, met me at the door. She said he’d gone down to his office for a while. I hopped on a local jitney, rode over, and walked through a few mud puddles until I came to his bamboo hut. Small cracks between the stalks let me to peek inside. A candle was lit and I could see Bob. More importantly, I could hear him. He was singing: 

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

I stood still and quiet. Rain dripped off my nose. Then I heard:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love.

In that sacred moment, I saw Bob weeping as he connected with his Saviour. I had the privilege of witnessing his private time of worship, although he never knew I was outside his office. Seeing his genuine devotion to God transformed how I viewed him. There was depth I had missed. I saw a heart he had never displayed or showed off. I’m confident his praise became a sweet aroma to God.

That evening Bob showed me that he was no phony. He was the kind of man I wanted to be. The same in private as he was in public. Authentic to the core—having nothing to hide before God and no reason to perform before others. It changed me forever.

What I saw in Bob is the very thing religious performance can’t produce. Fake spirituality. Religious phoniness. Pharisaic showmanship. It just doesn’t work. Why? It lacks authenticity. It’ll leave you distant from God. You’ll have no inner sense of peace. Phoniness puts people off. It stinks! Jesus smelled it in the hypocrisy of the religious showoffs of His day, and that’s why He warned His followers to watch out. 

Watch Out!

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity!…

When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get…

And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and dishevelled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.” (Matthew 6:1–2, 5, 16)

Jesus commanded, “Watch out!” because the performance impulse is in every one of us. It’s itching to express itself. There’s force in Matthew’s Greek wording. Jesus was saying, “Take pains,” “Take heed,” “Pay attention.” He was telling us, “Mind your motive. Mind your heart.” Putting on a show of piety is a temptation Christians must guard against with vigilance.

Doing good, donating, praying, and fasting are core areas in the Christian life where hypocrisy leaches in and spoils. Don’t let it.

Authentic Living

Three times, Jesus refers to a reward. If we perform to be seen, what’s the reward? A thumbs up, a round of applause, and a pat on the back. That’s all we get. However, if we do what’s right, help others, and seek God with purity and sincerity, no one may notice…but God will. His reward will be deep, meaningful, and eternal.

As you travel this path toward authentic living, I want to offer a few warnings based on Jesus’ words above.

First, when your devotion becomes a performance, you lapse into hypocrisy. If you notice that wayward motive arising in you, confess it to God. Let Him take it. Leave it behind. It’ll do you no good.

Second, when your giving lacks secrecy, you miss the reward of deep satisfaction. There’s an enormous sense of pleasure that God gives when you participate in the needs of others and know that God has used you as a blessing. 

Third, when you’re praying to impress others, you fail to tap into God’s power. Genuine power is yours through prayer. But you forsake it when you mouth empty words directed toward human ears rather than heaven’s throne.

The rewards of authenticity are well worth it! You know what, though? When you stay at it long enough, your life will do more than merely impress. It will inspire—just as Bob’s life inspired me. 

Father, we want to be real. Where we have been phony, forgive us. If there is anywhere in our lives where we are doing things to be seen, break that habit in us, starting now. By Your grace, make us real—authentic to the core—in spite of what anyone else may say or do or think about us. In the name of the most authentic One who ever lived, our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Content adapted by Insight for Living staff from the original transcripts of Charles R. Swindoll’s sermons, “Beware! Religious Performance Now Showing,” Copyright © 2015, and “Making Your Testimony Slam-Dunk Convincing,” Copyright © 2006 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.