Episode 6: God Prefers the Real You

Reach out to me here!

Ever sat in church wondering what everyone would think if they knew the real you? The one who occasionally drops an F-bomb, enjoys a glass of whiskey, and binge-watches questionable Netflix shows? You're not alone, and surprisingly, you might be closer to the heart of Christianity than you realize.

This raw and refreshing conversation dives deep into 1 Samuel 16:7, where God reminds us that while people obsess over appearances, He's exclusively focused on our hearts. When we examine Jesus' actual friend group—tax collectors, hotheads, doubters, and deniers—we discover something revolutionary: Jesus deliberately chose real people with real problems and authentic personalities. These weren't polished religious performers; they were messy humans who didn't fit the typical Christian mold.

The hard truth? Many of us have exchanged authentic faith for a religious checklist. We've convinced ourselves that being a "good Christian" means sanitizing our language, hiding our struggles, and presenting a Pinterest-perfect spiritual life. But what if that performance is actually distancing us from the God who created our unique personalities, senses of humor, and perspectives? What if the masterpiece God designed is being suffocated under the weight of religious expectation?

Consider this episode your divine permission slip. Not to live destructively, but to bring your whole, authentic self to your relationship with God. The beautiful paradox is that when you stop performing Christianity and start living it authentically, something magical happens—your faith becomes more vibrant, your community connections deepen, and people begin seeing Jesus in you not because you're perfect, but because you're real. God doesn't need another typical Christian; He needs the unique, beautifully flawed you He created with purpose. Ready to drop the mask and experience the freedom of being fully known and fully loved?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up everybody?
Welcome back to the FaithfulFox.
I'm your host, the one and onlyJuice man.
So picture this You're sittingthere with a nice glass of
whiskey yes, whiskey, not grapejuice scrolling through some
pretty questionable Netflixcontent and you drop the F-bomb.
Because, well, because lifehappened and you know what hits

(00:21):
you.
You bet half the people atchurch would clutch their pearls
if they knew their fellowbeliever was living like this.
But here's the thing, and thisis what we're diving into today.
I think God and I are doingjust fine.
In fact, I think he mightactually prefer the real me over
the fake church me I used toput on every Sunday.

(00:42):
Today we're talking about whyit's totally okay no, no,
scratch that why it's better tonot be a typical Christian.
We're going to look at what Godactually cares about, check out
Jesus's actual friend group,and I'm going to give you
permission to be authenticallyyou.
But first let's get this partystarted to be authentically you.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
But first let's get this party started away.
Our sin, yeah, your words giveme grace and you're here in this
place.
I've been blind by your holylight.
Give me blessings from abovewhen I broadcast.
Welcome to the Faithful FoxPodcast.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
All right, we're back and we're diving straight into
our main verse today 1 Samuel 16, verse 7.
God's talking to Samuel aboutchoosing the next king and he
drops this bomb.
The Lord does not look at thethings people look at.
People look at the outwardappearance, but the Lord looks

(02:08):
at the heart.
Boom, right there.
God doesn't care about yourchurch performance, folks, he
cares about your heart.
Now, this segment is Jesus'sactual friends group.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
He's got friends on the other side.
Let's talk about the originalsquad, shall we?
This segment is Jesus' actualfriends group.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Let's talk about the original squad, shall we?
Because if Jesus was buildinghis team today, I guarantee you
the church nominating committeewould have some serious concerns
.
First up, matthew the taxcollector.
This dude was basically thefirst century equivalent of that
guy who worked for the IRS andalso runs a payday loan business

(02:52):
Not exactly deacon material, amI right?
Then we got Peter and bless hisheart, but this man had the
emotional regulation of atoddler who missed nap time.
One minute he's walking onwater and the next he's cutting
off ears with a sword.
I mean, the guy literallycursed and denied knowing Jesus

(03:13):
when things got tough.
That's some serious vocabularythere, pete.
And don't even get me startedon the Sons of Thunder, james
and John.
Jesus literally nicknamed themafter a weather phenomenon
because they wanted to call downfire on people.
These weren't your typicalSunday school boys, people, and
you know what.
Jesus chose them on purpose.

(03:35):
He didn't pick the guy who hadhis life together, memorized
scripture and never said a badword.
He picked real people with realproblems and real personalities
.
Speaking of real,hypothetically speaking anyway.
Imagine you're at a churchbarbecue, right?
Everyone's being super politetalking about their blessings

(03:58):
and their journey.
Meanwhile you're over therethinking about how you binged
watched an entire season ofsomething probably inappropriate
and you're pretty sure youabout how you binged watched an
entire season of somethingprobably inappropriate, and
you're pretty sure you used somecreative language when you
stubbed your toe this morning.
But here's what's crazy thatreal version of you, that's who
God wants at his table, not thesanitized, pinterest-perfect

(04:19):
version you think you need to be.
Which brings us to our nextsegment the permission slip from
God.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
I come in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy
Spirit.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
So here's your official permission slip, signed
by the big guy himself.
You don't have to be perfect tobe loved by God.
You don't have to clean up yourlanguage, stop enjoying that
craft beer or pretend you onlylisten to worship music.
Now, don't get me wrong.
I'm not saying go wild and usefaith as an excuse to be a

(04:51):
terrible person, but there's amassive difference between being
authentic and being destructive.
See, the problem with typicalChristianity is that it's often
more about following a checklistthan following Jesus.
Don't drink, don't swear, don'twatch anything fun, always
smile, always say you're blessedwhen someone asks how you're

(05:13):
doing.
But Jesus hung out withprostitutes and partied at
weddings and yeah, that wasn'tgrape juice, they were drinking
folks.
He called religious leaderssnakes and hypocrites, which,
let's be honest, probably wasn'tconsidered polite conversation
back then either.
The truth is, god created youwith your personality, your

(05:37):
sense of humor, your way ofseeing the world.
When you try to stuff all thatinto some cookie cutter
Christian mold, you're actuallyhiding the masterpiece he made.
You know what's beautiful about1 Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7?
It's not just that God looks atour heart instead of our

(05:59):
appearance.
It's that he sees our heartsAll of it, the good parts, the
messy parts, the parts you'reworking on and, honestly, the
parts you've given up trying tofix, and he loves what he sees
and he loves what he sees.
So maybe it's time to stopperforming Christianity and

(06:21):
start living it.
Maybe it's time to let thepeople at church see the real
you, whiskey and all.
Maybe it's time to trust thatthe God who chose fishermen and
tax collectors, might actuallylike your authentic, imperfect,
beautifully human heart.
Because here's the thing whenyou're real with God and real

(06:43):
with others, that's when faithgets interesting, that's when
community becomes genuine,that's when people start seeing
Jesus in you, not because you'reperfect, but because you're
real.
As we wrap up today, I want youto hear this loud and clear God

(07:12):
doesn't need you to be atypical Christian.
He needs you to be you, the youhe created, the you he loves,
the you he has plans for.
People look at the outwardappearance, but the Lord looks
at the heart.
Your heart, not your vocabulary, not your weekend activities,

(07:40):
not your streaming history.
Your heart is what matters tohim and if your heart is seeking
him, if your heart wants tolove others, well, if your heart
is growing in faith, then youare exactly where you need to be
.
So go ahead, be authentically.

(08:02):
You love God with your wholeheart, love others well and
trust that the creator of theuniverse might actually enjoy
your company just as you are.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on the Faithful Fox.
Until next time, keep it real,keep it faithful and remember

(08:29):
you are loved exactly as you are.
Peace out you.