Be Authentic!
There is a small group of people that my wife works with who are going to dinner together with the purpose of trying different authentic foods from around the world. I've learned that authentic German food is not quite like the good old potluck at church. Ethiopian food tasted pretty good, but I would much prefer to eat with silverware than they way to do it with pure authenticity. It's been fun to experience, but I was just a bit disappointed last week when I went to a Creole restaurant. I ordered one of my favorite things in the world - jambalaya! I received my bowl, took a big sniff of the spices, and began to dig in. Bummer! It just didn't have any "zip" to it at all. I love spicy things and especially my favorite dish. My first thought was, "This isn't authentic Creole food!" I added habanera sauce to my dish until I had it just right. Then I enjoyed. As I consider my initial displeasure with my food, I'm reminded of something so very important. I expected real jambalaya, and God expects us to be real with Him and others. As parents, we need to be authentic with God in order to share with Him in prayer our loves, hurts, joys, sorrows, concerns, thanks, and thoughts. So many times, we don't seem to need God because we have life figured out and things are going good. What a lie!! God wants us to humble ourselves and talk to Him plainly. Our kids need us to do the same thing in being humble and authentic with them. Jesus thought it was important enough to teach people to see themselves with a humble reality - that's authentic - so He told a short parable. Read Luke 18:9-14 to learn about the Pharisee and tax collector.
Family Discussion Points!
Have every family member share their favorite meal and its origin (Pizza - Italian, etc.).
Talk about things that can be authentic and fake (jewelry, foods, tattoos, tans, etc.).
Talk about ways to be real, honest, and authentic in prayer instead of just going through the motions or putting on a show like everything is fine.
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