The Need to Impress

Recently I heard about a company that will make fake vacation photos for you, ensuring that no one knows that you did not take an expensive dream vacation. You won’t live with the shame of not being able to afford the vacation you wish you had taken, or feel embarrassed that others have more resources than you have. 

It’s ironic that in a culture screaming for transparency and authenticity, a company selling hypocrisy can survive. It also amazes me that the need to impress others becomes the driving force behind fake photos.  

• Why does what others think – or what we believe others think – become more important than truthful reality?  
• What is it within the human heart that craves acclaim and applause so much that we pay to pretend to be what we are not? 
• Do our insecurities lead us to live a life of pretense? 
• Or does discontentment with our true selves lead us to crave more?
• Do we believe acceptance depends on keeping up?

In our struggle for acceptance we can take comfort in this:

• What God thinks is most important and we cannot fool Him.  
• He already knows the truth about us – and get this – He loves us anyway!
• He calls us His own beloved children. 
• He showers us with blessings we couldn’t possibly deserve.
• He fills our hearts with joy and peace. 
• He provides for us everything we need. 
• He assures us of His presence and says He will never leave us. 
• He gives us strength for each daily challenge.  
• And He has given us many precious promises. 

That’s a reality we can live with.

He asks us to trust Him, to be content with what we have, to lovingly speak the truth, and to exercise wisdom without hypocrisy. And that is living a life worth sharing.

Blessings,

Ruth 

Here are some encouraging scriptures: Philippians 4:13,19; 1 John 3:1-2; 2 Thessalonians  2:13; Hebrews 13:5; Ephesians 4:15; James 3:17; Romans  8:38-39; Romans 12:9; 2 Peter 1:2-11