If you’ve ever watched American Idol, you’ve seen the large numbers of young people who show up to audition who are completely and totally tone deaf. As a singer involved in a music ministry, I am addicted to watching American Idol. Much like watching a train wreck, I just can’t tear my eyes, or my ears, away from the various individuals who are in total denial about their ability to sing.

I wonder if we Christians are sometimes in that kind of denial as well. It’s likely that most of us have no idea how we come off to others or how those outside our sphere react to our belief system and the way we present it. Instead, many of us charge forward assuming that we will be received the way we think we should and we are shocked when it doesn’t work out that way.

It’s easy to do given the fact that most of us work really hard to fit into our surroundings and so we subconsciously mold ourselves to the environment of the Christian and pick up the language, dress, and persona that is needed to be accepted by others. It’s human nature.

The reality is more like the way we feel when we see a picture of ourselves. I mean, I look in the mirror everyday, but when I see a picture of myself, I am usually shocked by the reality of what I really look like because my brain fixes what it sees in the mirror. In that same way, we fix our view of ourselves and how we interact with each other. Those outside our faith probably look at us and shake their heads the same way I do when I watch American Idol.

The thing that amazes me is that those outside the faith are often put off by Christians, but not by Christ Himself. Throughout the world and even amongst those of other faiths, Jesus comes off fairly well. Perhaps much of the reason lies in the total honesty of Jesus. Let’s face it, we’re often not that honest.

In fact, we often have a hidden agenda when it comes to meeting other people. Often our goal is to get them to go to our church. Even though I consider myself a strong Christian, my lack of presence on Sunday morning keeps me on the fringes of the club atmosphere and it also seems to place my objective when connecting with others in a totally different place. When I reach out to people, I have no church to send them to nor any pamphlet to hand them, but I instead simply make an effort introduce them to the concept of love.

In fact, love is the one thing that every human being responds to the most dramatically, but it has to be genuine and sincere without underlying agendas or it becomes a salespitch. Believe me, if there were a way to skip the sales pitches like we do commercials in recorded programs, all of us would be fast forwarding right through them. But love is played in slow motion, and it gives to those who are giving it and to those who are receiving it. Love is very photogenic. It always takes a good picture.