Articles
Staging My Life
Anybody who has listed a house for sale knows a favorite word of realtors: staging. It’s the process of presenting your home in the most appealing way possible to the most number of potential buyers. A properly staged home will feel like anybody could live there, making it easier for someone to walk in the door and imagine that this could be his or her new home.
But staging is an annoying chore for the seller, especially if you have to keep living in your house while trying to sell it. Staging means taking your personal items and hiding them away. Family portraits come down, replaced with bland generic artwork. Rooms must be kept clean all the time, ready at a moments’ notice for a home tour. Essentially, it makes it feel like you can’t really LIVE in your own home.
This, of course, makes me think of a handful of spiritual applications...
Do we live staged lives around unbeliervers? Are we bland and generic? Remember, Jesus said our faith and moral behavior must be distinctive. It must stand out like a city set on a hill, bright like a lamp, flavorful like salt (Matthew 5:13ff). If our righteousness does not exceed that of the Pharisees then we will not be worthy of the Kingdom (5:20).
Do we believe we need to stage ourselves for other Christians? I get it! Hosting can be stressful. Opening a home can feel invasive. We might not feel like we measure up. But our love for each other should be nurtured in such a way that we grow past this hesitation. “Let love be without hypocrisy...Give preference to one another in honor...practicing hospitality...do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly...” (Romans 12). If we can’t learn to be real with each other, who can we be real around?
Do we think any amount of staging will fool God? Just read all of Matthew chapter 23 to get an idea of what Jesus thinks of a life that looks great on the outside but lacks spiritual depth, honesty, or consistency! Just like a house that has all the junk hastily shoved under beds and in closets, the Pharisees were righteous in a superficial way but were full of sin once you peeled the top layer away. God sees who we are on the inside, and is not fooled (Galatians 6:7). If we claim to be flawless, we make God out to be the liar (1 John 1:8-10). All He wans is the true, raw, honest me. Any flaws or shortcoming can be forgiven if I’m just honest about them.
