The Day of the Double Lives

In 1st John chapter 1, the writer, a disciple of Jesus, speaks of what we might term the "reconciled life":
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.   Verse 6 uses the phrase, "If we say..."   There is a tendency to create or craft a persona, an image, that may or may not be in alignment with our true identity in Christ, or that may mask internal strife and struggle that we don't want others to see.   Who we project may not be who we really are, and if we are living that type of double life, it leads to insecurity and as James says, instability.    God calls us to live authentic lives, pursuing the lives and being comfortable with who He has made us to be.   And, where there are struggles and sins, we can activate the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, so that we can live less disconnected lives and experience the peace of God.

The apostle Paul writes about living an authentic life in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4:
(1) since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

There's great anticipation - tonight, if viewers can actually find the Oprah Winfrey Network on their cable TV boxes, they will see an interview with famed, then disgraced bicyclist Lance Armstrong - banned from the sport for life, denying that he used illegal substances to boost his athleticism, taking his multiple accusers to task who said otherwise.   So, now he comes clean on semi-national television...stunning and intriguing.   Lance is, in a sense, trying to reconcile his double lives by an act of confession.

It is quite common to see competing narratives in the lives of high-profile people.   Take the new evidence mounting concerning Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, who warmed the hearts of football fans by playing his heart out after the deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend just hours, or days, apart.   One sports site, Deadspin, says Manti's girlfriend never existed, the university says that Te'o was the victim a cruel hoax, he has made his own statement - either, as he says, he's discovered that part of the life he was living wasn't true, or, if some have said, he was in on it to boost his Heisman hopes or create a bigger-than-life story, then the double life game is over.   Whatever the case, the public, who responds positively to stories of hope amidst adversity, ate it up, and was duped.   

These stories can challenge us as believers to make sure that our lives reflect authenticity.   I'm intrigued by a Christian Post story quoting actress and new mom, Megan Fox, who tells Esquire magazine in some detail about her Pentecostal upbringing, her frustration with fame, and how church is become more important to her.   She's quoted as saying:

"What people don't realize is that fame, whatever your worst experience in high school, when you were being bullied by those ten kids in high school, fame is that, but on a global scale, where you're being bullied by millions of people constantly."

And she's apparently not satisfied with the image that she has crafted or that has been crafted for her:

"I felt powerless in that image. I didn't feel powerful. It ate every other part of my personality, not for me but for how people saw me, because there was nothing else to see or know."

There is a life that God has ordained for us, built on truth and being submissive to Him - if we live in a manner that is different from His intentions for us, then we run the risk of being most miserable.   The real story is what's going on in our hearts and how accurately we are living in accordance with the new creation that we are in Christ - we can construct a persona, we can spin stories, but ultimately, what's important is being committed to Christ and true to ourselves.   We have to rid ourselves of the driving force to please people and project an image, and allow the presence of the one true God to permeate our thoughts and actions.