Wanted: Authenticity

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, October 12, 2010

"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless."
- Matthew 5:13

There is a difference between a believer who is seeking to live a godly life, but struggling, and the person who claims to be a believer, but blatantly disregards what the Bible says and chooses to live a lifestyle out of God's plan. My request of those in the latter category is to please do us all a favor and be quiet. It sounds surprising to hear an evangelist ask someone to not tell others about Christ. But the key text of the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 6:8, when Jesus said, "Don't be like them. . . ." Essentially, Jesus was saying, "Don't be like this world. Be different. Don't be like them."

So what are we to be? We are to be salt. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless." In Jesus' day, salt was a bigger deal than it is now. The Romans believed that except for the sun, nothing was more valuable than salt. It actually was used as a form of currency, and Roman soldiers would sometimes be paid in salt. Hence the expression, "He is not worth his salt."

We are all going to have moments of hypocrisy. If I said I have never been a hypocrite, then I would be hypocritical for saying that. Believers have not always practiced what they preached. That is called humanity. Every Christian will fall short.

But if you are a Christian and are living a lifestyle that is contrary to what the gospel teaches and what the Bible says, then please don't talk about Jesus. Because the world needs authenticity today.