The word “authentic” rang in my thought after hearing how Olympic figure skater and gold medal favorite Ilia Malinin handled the many questions from journalists after his disappointing free skate in Milan. His patience, calm, and intelligence – even gratitude to have been able “to put in this work and effort to get to where I am” – were described as beautiful by USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan.
I couldn’t help thinking that although this young man may have lost on one level, he won big on another. A substantial and solidly real sense of life and character shone through that very difficult moment – something truly genuine. Who doesn’t long for an indissoluble, unforced authenticity that is able to withstand and outshine not only loss but temptations like deception, contrivance, and dishonesty?
The word “authentic” comes from the Greek word “authentikos,” which means “original, genuine, principal” and comes from the Greek “authentēs,” meaning “one acting on one’s own authority” (see etymonline.com). The Bible offers abundant guidance about authenticity that won’t fade away. It is filled with characters who sought out what was real and incontestable by listening to and following consistently the one supreme God. The master of this humility and love of the truth was Jesus.
Jesus truly understood without a doubt that God was his Father – the one original creator – the creator of everyone. Jesus knew unequivocally that Spirit was the only authority and reality of existence. He was endowed with the Christ, which heals and transforms lives. His own words, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” – like a reflection in a mirror – speak directly to his clarity about his oneness with God (John 5:17).
Christian Science completely embraces and throws light on the words and works of Jesus in explaining and demonstrating the spiritual truth of being that since we come forth from God, Spirit, we are the reflection, the very image, of Spirit – pure goodness. As “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, puts it, our “genuine selfhood is recognizable only in what is good and true” (p. 294). We can rejoice that this is our legitimate and real identity. If superficiality, affectation, or even hypocrisy of any sort appear to be running the show, we can do something. Expressing the “genuine selfhood” of our God-given goodness and seeing it in others can deflate these mortal characteristics and show their incapacity to have power or presence.
Years ago, I had an experience where I was able to learn more about my real – and only – authentic self. My work as a server at a restaurant during a summer college break included serving alcoholic drinks, and I became more miserable every day in having to fulfill this part of my role, as it usually meant numerous rounds of drinks resulting in a general sense of noise and disorder. I began to pray to God not only for right direction but to be obedient to it.
As I became confident and clearer that this activity didn’t line up with my desire to see and support God’s goodness in everyone, I felt led to quit. When I told the manager – who seemed to be a tough cookie – that I just couldn’t serve drinks anymore, as it didn’t seem to be uplifting the customers, she actually commended me for my decision. I was able to find other work for the summer.
Like the psalmist, we can say, “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and You set me in Your presence forever” (Psalms 41:12, Amplified Bible). There is no safer place to be. Here we are always shown the good all around us. And we are forever enabled to act on pure and honest inspiration that continually brings about blessings in our own and others’ experiences.
