We've all done it. Fake it, I mean.
But I want to suggest that there is only ONE time when its actually OK to "fake it."
No. Its not at the family party you didn't want to go to. (Gasp! How did she know?! I'm in the same family, remember?)
No, its not online. (Umm photo editing apps, anyone? Add enough tint and EVERYONE looks perfect)
No, its not at school. (What?! But if they knew the real me I wouldn't have ANY friends!)
The only time its acceptable to "fake it" is when it comes to faith.
What the wha?! (Pssst. We got a reject Godmother. She is telling us to fake faith!)
So aside from faking Faith, which we will get to in a minute, lets say why its NOT OK to "fake it" in other circumstances. The short answer is because God created you to be authentically you. Only YOU can be the person He created you to be. Only YOU can fulfill the purpose He has for your life. Being fake just mucks it all up. He doesn't want you to be fake. He wants you to be YOU because - are you ready for this - because THE WORLD NEEDS YOU. I am so not exaggerating.
It might sound like a Youth Group Cliche, but its totally true that God made you to be YOU because He knows that the world needs YOU. But it needs REAL you. Not Fake you. Satan LOVES to confuse young people. He lies to them and tells them that aren't good enough. Aren't pretty enough. Aren't strong enough. Aren't smart enough. Aren't popular enough. Aren't worth enough.
LIES!!!! LIES!!!! Think about it. If any of those things were true, the devil would't try so hard to convince you of them!
You know, I love Pope John Paul II (shocker, I know). He was loved by SO MANY young people. And one of the reasons why was because he saw who they were, and he told them they were GOOD! In his eyes, no one needed to be fake. No one needed to put on an act. No one needed to fake it. He saw young people the way God does. GOOD! BEAUTIFUL! GIFTED!
If God thought the world didn't need you, didn't need what you have to offer, He wouldn't have created you the way you already are.
Whoah.
Mind. Blown.
So. Be YOU. Authentic, imperfect, sometimes awkward YOU. And a funny thing will happen.
You'll be happier. You'll be freer. You'll be less stressed (lets face it, faking it is exhausting. So is worrying about people finding out that you're faking it). You'll discover more about yourself. You'll make BETTER friends. You'll have deeper relationships.
But you still have to be polite at Aunt Gertrude's family party. Being real doesn't mean you get to be rude. (Yes, I know we don't ACTUALLY have an Aunt Gertrude but wouldn't it be sort of cool if we did?)
So back to faking faith.
Its actually not my idea. I got it from the Bible (uh.... We're Catholic, we don't read the Bible. < bad joke> )
Throughout the Bible we are reminded that we are to have Faith. But what do you do when you feel like you don't? You make an ACT of faith. To put it bluntly, you basically fake it. And then a funny thing happens. It comes. Faith isn't a feeling. Its not magic. Its not something you can even consider tangible. Its a gift. And the fastest way to get God to give you MORE of this gift is to get His attention by acting as though you already have it. Here's the trick: don't give up. Decide. Do I lack faith? Do I want more or deeper faith? Then I shall simply go about my life as though I already had it. I PROMISE He will give you all the faith you lack AND MORE. Its one of His favorite things to do.
John Paul II gives us a great reason why its totally worth it to "fake it" when it comes to faith:
We ALL want to be happy. If Jesus is what is going to ultimately make us the MOST happy, and we need to have Faith in order to know Him, well then, lets start Faking it!
(Actually, I thought of ONE MORE instance when its totally legit to fake it. When your God mother asks you if you like the blog and you think to yourself, "actually its kinda lame" FAKE IT and instead say "I LOVE IT. ITS AWESOME!" ;) )
Love,
Your fairy Godmother