Let's keep it...(What)...REAL!

Complied & Written by: Apostle Dr. Donell Sims

© 2005 Larry Donell Sims

How many times have heard the word "REAL"? What does it mean? Where did it come from? Many people talk about being real but few actually live by it. Webster defines real as being something which is existing, genuine, true, or authentic. My definition is not being fake, being who you are regardless to what others think about you. If we really be honest with our self we have been taught to lie, cheat, and steal. Think when you were young and was made to play with someone you really didn't want to play with, and you had to be nice because if you didn't your parents were going to get you. Or even when someone ask you how a outfit looks and you know they look terrible but because it's not nice to hurt their feelings you say it's cute or you look nice, knowing in your heart you want to say that is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

*Though we don't want to go around and hurt people's feelings were do we draw the line. If you never tell that church member or that friend they cant cook they'll never stop inviting you over for dinner, and they'll forever bring that dish to the church fellowship. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but wouldn't it be safe to say that if I lie to spare your feelings I'm not being your friend because what happens when we go out and someone else notice that the outfit is a bit ugly and make a remark that probably hurt worse coming from someone else instead of their friend.

*And another thing why do we pretend to like people that we really don't like. Now I know that we as Christians say that we must like everyone, and though this may be a controversial issue. I feel that we must love everyone, you can love someone and not like them or their ways. Because we as Christians have unsaved love ones who we love dearly, but we don't like the lifestyle they live which could cause us to separate ourselves from one another. We as Christians must become real with ourselves or we are going to loose a lot of people in the body of Christ. We must be real with ourselves first concerning our issues and struggles. We must learn to separate church people from  Gods people. Church people tend to hide and fake to impress people. They will dress up a problem instead of facing it. They feel that they have to prove something to people rather than proving it to God. They would rather look saved and consecrated rather than being saved and consecrated.

*As a God man or God woman we must strive to be real in every part of our life. It is our goal to please God rather than man. I would rather be saved, than just to look saved because if I am saved sooner or later I will look saved. It's like this I would rather have a million dollars than just looking like a million dollars because looking like is not going to get me the benefits that being will. Having a actual relationship with God is better than just talking about God.  Many times we come to church and we jump and shout off emotion never really getting to know God in his fullness, and when we go home we are still defeated, broken, and alone. Many times our spirit longs for something as though something is missing, And we try to fulfill this desire with a man, woman, and things that have no value and can only give a superficial love.

It might even fulfill the desire for a moment but then as time goes by you realize you're in the same place with the same feeling of loneliness and emptiness. The reason is a substitute can only last a season or a short period of time. But you are going to have to get the real thing. Some things you just can't substitute. You must have the real thing. Having a relationship with God is so much better than going off someone else's testimony. I'm reminded of a story that I heard one time about a man who was walking  down the street and someone gave him a hundred dollars. He was so happy over this hundred dollars, the person told him to return at the same place tomorrow and I will give you another hundred dollars. So he ran over a friends house to tell the good news. He got there and began to share the testimony of his blessing and after he was finished his friend wanted to know who is this person that gave you this money? What is his/her name? Where are they from? What is something that you can give them in return for their blessing you? and the man began to think, and had to say "I don't know." See after all the praise he gave and all the joy he had, he was still left with a Question. He couldn't show his gratitude because he didn't stop to take time to get to know the person that blessed him and a lot of times that's the way we do God. He blesses us and we are so excited  about the "THING" that we for get to acknowledge the one who gave us the blessing in the first place.