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I wanted to bring you in a on a discussion that began in small group Tuesday and continued on later with a friend.  It started with asking why it is so hard to make personal time to spend with God?  One answer is that busyness is normal for students.  It is normal to do homework all day Sunday.  It is normal to attend every last presentation or meeting that might expand our mind.  After all, our time at school is short so it is normal to make the most of it… Does any of this sound normal? 

Did I just say normal 6 times in the last 6 sentences?  I did it intentionally, because acting normal and accepting the norms of our surroundings is a big part of student life.  For example… How many of you feel pressure to pursue a particular career or organization because it is normally accepted as the most excellent thing to do?  I know I have, I need to be a consultant and work at McKinsey.  Or I need to work at Proctor and Gamble or Microsoft.  Or I need to get my Phd by the time I am 25.  All great goals of course, but potentially not the best for you?  Why?  Because you’re not normal… and neither am I. 

What this leads me to is recognizing once again, that everybody is normal until you get to know them.  We all act normal.  We know we’re not, but since everyone else looks normal, we have an image to uphold and we jump in the game.  And a result is that we miss opportunities to do what we know is best so that we can chase what others think is best.  For example taking 20 minutes in the middle of our day to spend quality time with God.  But another result is that we develop inauthentic relationships. 

I have decided to choose authenticity over pretending to be normal for a couple reasons.

1) Wearing a mask robs me of God’s power to be a functioning member of Christ’s body.

Ephesians 4:25  

 ²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

 

We were made for authentic Christian community.

 

Eph 4: 12-15

¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

2) Wearing a mask robs me of God’s power to influence non believers

Matthew 5:13-14 

¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.            

If school is a place where the pressures of normalcy are stronger, then the potential results of being authentic, are much greater.  I (we all) need to learn how to do that.