Don’t be ‘authentic’

By Mark Loughridge - Posted at Gentle Reformation:

One of the great buzz words of our times is ‘authenticity’—we are to be ‘authentic’. We are meant to express ourselves authentically— from “I’m just saying what I feel” to “I just had to walk away from my wife and children—I had to be true to myself.”

Obviously I believe in being honest and genuine, but often ‘authenticity’ is less about being honest and more a justification for doing what we want despite the needs of others around us. It is the great whitewash agent of the 21st century, used to excuse much.

Authenticity seems to be premised in the crazy idea that we are somehow innately good, and in being authentic we are somehow peeling back the layers to expose that innate goodness.

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