In 1969, Coca Cola changed their slogan to "It's the Real Thing." I can hear that commercial playing in the back of my head right now. In fact, an ice cold one in a small bottle sounds pretty good at the moment. No, I'll sip my water and try to wash away that darn commercial. "It's the ReAAL Thing!" Can you hear it now? Hope it's driving you CRAZY!
OK. Let's discuss "The Real Thing." For most of my life, "The Real Thing" slogan never quite fit. All I wanted to do was fit in and be one of the guys. Unfortunately, "the guys" did things that were either illegal, unethical, immoral and incomprehensible! The 1939 Coca Cola slogan was "Coke Goes Along." That slogan described my teen and early twenties perfectly. In the eighties, red and white bumper stickers, signs and trays displayed "Coke....The Pause that Refreshes." I had a tray which was used frequently but discovered the "Pause didn't Refresh" and pushed me further from becoming "The Real Thing." Today, I'm closer to being the "Real Thing" but being and staying real requires humility, transparency, authenticity and identity checks on a daily basis. Right now you're probably saying what is he talking about? I'm real some of the time, a "people pleaser" or "poser" more of the time and a downright "fake" at various times. Why? Acceptance and Love. I (we) want it!
Think about it. Has someone ever asked you how you were doing? It's happened to me and without blinking an eye said, "GREAT!....Couldn't be better." The truth was the opposite. My stomach lining was burning and my head was juggling stress balls. I was really thinking, "I need to close more deals, generate more calls, plan better, pay the bills, save for college and 2 weddings, ride my bike, eat better, change the oil, unpack more boxes, write some thank you notes, HUG AND KISS MY WIFE, TELL HER I LOVE HER AND SHE'S GORGEOUS! TELL MY DAUGHTERS THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL AND I'M PROUD OF THEM, feed the dogs and cats (sometimes), do some laundry, blah, blah, blah. WAIT A MINUTE.
NO I DON'T!
I JUST NEED TO KNOW I'M DEEPLY LOVED BY GOD, TOTALLY ACCEPTED BY HIM AND THE "REAL" ME IS TOTALLY PERFECT LIKE HIM. HOW CAN YOU SAY THE "REAL" YOU IS PERFECT? BECAUSE GOD SEES JESUS IN ME AND JESUS IS PERFECT. HE ALSO TELLS ME NOT TO WORRY (MATTHEW 6:34).HOWEVER, I STILL NEED TO HUG AND KISS MY WIFE. TELL HER I LOVE HER AND SHE'S GORGEOUS! TELL MY DAUGHTERS THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL AND I'M PROUD OF THEM and most importantly, KEEP WORKING ON BEING THE REAL THING.
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