Plastic Jesus

I have an issue with "fake..."  Fake attitude, fake happiness, fake family, fake faith, fake Jesus.  I'm sure it's because I've met too many people in my life who completely false:  

• They act nice to you... but talk nasty about you when you walk away.
• They pretend to have it all together (making me feel like a dolt), but really they are falling apart... just like the rest of us.
• They pretend to be "THE BEST" spouse, parent, friend, associate, leader, whatever... but really, they are beyond flawed and their relationships are a disaster.
• They pretend to be a Christian... they talk big, but walk small.... clutching their "faith" in a tightly-held fist and waving it front of everybody.  But their faith is fake... plastic... like the little Plastic Jesus they grasp.

I've posted several videos by IgniterMedia on this blog - largely because they "get" everything I'm thinking.  This one about "Plastic Jesus" is no exception:

Stop pretending!!  You don't have to be the PERFECT person/spouse/friend/parent/child/etc.  You just have to be YOU... flawed, screwed-up, YOU.  Because believe me, all of your friends are flawed and screwed up too.


I am a HUGE Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanatic... as in I own all of the episodes, have action figures, posters, and other prop-replicas... scary, I know!  One of my favorite episodes is called Earshot.  In this, Buffy is tainted by a demon's blood and is suddenly able to hear everyone's thoughts... all of the time.  She overhears what she thinks is a plot to murder kids at school and finds herself in the school's bell tower with one of the school nerds who is brandishing a high-powered rifle.  This is an excerpt from her speech to him (before she disarms him):


JONATHAN
Stop doing that!

BUFFY
Doing what?

JONATHAN
Stop saying my name like we're friends.
We're not friends. You all think I'm an
idiot. A short idiot.

BUFFY
I don't.I don't think about you much at all.
Most people here don't. Bugs you,
doesn't it? You've got all this pain,
all these feelings and nobody's
paying attention.

JONATHAN
You think I just want attention?

BUFFY
No, I think you're in the bell tower
with a high powered rifle because you
want to blend in. Believe it or not, Jonathan,
I understand. About the pain.

JONATHAN
Oh, right. 'Cause the burden of being
beautiful and athletic, that's a crippler.

BUFFY
I'm sorry, I was wrong. You are an idiot.My life happens very occasionally to
suck beyond the telling of it. More than
I can stand sometimes. And not just me.
Every single person down there is
ignoring your pain because they're way
too busy with their own. The beautiful
ones, the popular ones, the guys that
pick on you... everyone.

If you could hear what they're feeling -
the confusion, the loneliness... It looks
quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening.
Everyone has struggles... Everyone has pain...  You don't have to pretend that "everything is perfect" when it's not.  Jesus was the only "perfect" one... and His life was full of hardships and pain!
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9-10

Learn it... believe it... God is a refuge - a place of safety and comfort.  You don't have to pretend anymore.  He will help you.  He understands.  And if you really looked around, you'd see that all of your friends are also dealing with their own issues too.
Why settle for the illusion provided by the Plastic Jesus when you can have the real thing?