1 Corinthians 10:12-13

This encouraged me today...hopefully it'll do the same for you!

    So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you
    don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is
    common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be
    tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,
    he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up
    under it.

    1 Corinthians 10:12-13

James 1:26-27

   If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep
   a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his
   religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts
   as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
   widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being
   polluted by the world.

   James 1:26-27

We have to work on controlling our selfish thoughts, motives, and desires. They cause so much unnecessary chaos and disorder in our lives! I feel like these verses hint at that concept. Our world teaches us to be all about ourselves and focus on getting whatever we can for ourselves, but that's not how God tells us to live. God tells us not to worry about "getting for ourselves" or worry about what each day will bring, but for us to look after "orphans and widows" and for us to "seek first the kingdom of GOD" (not our own kingdom) like we find in Matthew 6:33. These are just a few things that God asks of us throughout Scripture, but I think you can get the picture.

I feel like its becoming to common for us to see the "false religion" mentioned in the verses above. It seems to be all about appearance. People want to look good and religious around certain people at church on Sunday, but when they go home or interact with people during the week, you would never know God was a part of their lives. I'm guilty of this far more often than I'd like to admit and I pray for God to forgive me, and for Him to help me change. To keep a tighter reign on my tongue. To look after orphans, widows, the hurting and needy, and for me to not be polluted by the world I live in. I want to be more like my Savior, Jesus!

Jon Acuff: What new leaders know & old leaders fear.

(Re-posting this from Jon Acuff's blog. I thought it was interesting and I feel like I'm seeing the truth behind this in my life...both in wanting to be real and honest myself, and wanting other people to be real and honest about their struggles [and successes] in life.)
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What New Leaders Know & Old Leaders Fear.


Old generation leaders think:

“If I share my weaknesses, my followers will never be able to trust my strengths.”

That thinking helped create leaders who, in meetings, and in speeches only share their successes or mistakes they made twenty years ago. The ridiculous assumption is if you don’t share your weaknesses, people won’t know you have any. Usually, the people you lead are already well aware of your weaknesses, even if you’ve been fronting like you’re perfect.

This next generation won’t stand for that line of thinking.

New generation leaders know:

“If I don’t trust my followers enough to share my weaknesses with them, they’ll never trust my strengths when I share those with them.”

The days of fake leaders are drawing to a close.

Don’t overshare as a weapon or a way to manipulate, but don’t think you can be an authentic leader without being an authentic human first.
 
Question:
How would you define “authenticity?”