{Editor’s Note: This post was written by Jake Harvey. You can learn more about Jake at the end of the post.}
Clothes make the man.
Image is everything.
Put your best foot forward.
Do you hear phrases like this often? I do. They’re on television, in print, on the radio and on the internet. The idea is that presentation is everything. But what if the presentation hides the truth? What if the presentation is more about deception than disclosure?
I am from the country and wasn’t used to being asked for money, but since moving to Fort Worth four and a half years ago I have been asked dozens of times. When I’m approached, I always like to hear the presentation. Usually it’s some sort of theft, child in trouble, meteor strike, inland hurricane, car broke down around the corner, or some other catastrophic event which just so happened to cause us to cross paths.
At this point, I used to feel guilty because I had no way of knowing who was honest or who was not. Then one time an older lady asked me for whatever I could spare because she needed help “just to get by.” So I gave her what I had. I helped her because she didn’t lie to me, even though she knew I smelled the wine on her breath. I didn’t have to weigh the truth of her presentation. She was in bad shape and was looking for help to get what she thought she needed. I should have spent some time and showed her more compassion, but I was kind of shocked that I didn’t get a story.
I know you’re probably not a panhandler for a career, but let’s pretend you’re a spiritual panhandler of sorts. Believers often present themselves as having it all together. I know I used to, but it got to be too much work. I was trying to “be a good witness” and “let my light shine” and all of that other stuff. And we all know that lights don’t shine if they have dirt on them, so how could I possibly be a good witness if people saw that Jesus hadn’t already fixed every flaw about me?
When what we show to other people as “Christian” is a panhandler’s version of a presentation, it gets old in a hurry. The person listening to us may think that they’ve not just really, really met Jesus and that’s why they’re failing, but after they hear the same meteor, hurricane, car-broke-down-just-out-of-sight type of life story, like me, they begin to lose their sensitivity.
The first few times someone hears an elaborate presentation they might be convinced but, as time goes on, most people get pretty good at spotting a fake. Instead of trying to hide the flaws and present the perfect façade, maybe just let it be apparent that you’re just trying to get by like the old lady who smelled like wine. An honest person, regardless of their condition, is much more believable. If Jesus had already made you perfect in every way, then what do you need him for now?
As I grew more advanced in years I realized my presentation of being cleaned up was a fake, so I quit making the presentation. Then I began trying to do what Jesus said…abide. That’s what The Dude did too, but this isn’t a pop culture blog. Nowadays, when I talk about Jesus, I don’t present myself as a billboard for the “new and improved, Jesus super-charged Jake.” It’s me and I’m still messed up, but Jesus really likes me (Jesus loves me sounds too trite here), and even if I don’t get any better, His opinion of me is not going to change. That thought alone makes me want to be better.
Steve Brown’s A Scandalous Freedom was a life-altering book for me because he pointed out that God’s grace doesn’t depend on how flawless I can be, or how well I trick the people around me – it depends on Jesus and whether I know him. Some of the above ideas have even been borrowed from his book, and some of those ideas sound too simple.
But isn’t grace simple?
Doesn’t grace sound too good to be true?
That’s what people who don’t know Jesus will listen to and that kind of grace is attractive to people who’ve heard the presentation before. Grace that requires you to clean yourself up first isn’t grace at all, so quit giving the ridiculous panhandler stories when you talk about Jesus.
You might be surprised to see that you’re taken seriously.
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About Jake Harvey: A security officer for the past four years, Jake hates the Chicago Cubs, being late, and whining. Waylon Jennings, Clutch, and TV on the Radio are his favorite musicians, and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity, and Jon Acuff’s Stuff Christians Like are among his favorite books. When it comes to the Bible, Jake most identifies with Peter because he kept messing up but Jesus loved him anyway. He has double-jointed thumbs, requires chewing gum at all times, and needs more guns. The best thing about being single, according to Jake, is that his budget committee consists only of himself.
*Photo credit: The Consumerist
