We have all heard stories of those eagerly waiting to meet for the first time that person they matched with on the latest dating app, only to meet someone they didn’t recognize because they used a false image to hide their true appearance. It happened to me as well. There is nothing more disappointing than high expectations for someone who turned out to be entirely different in the flesh. In a world of artificial intelligence apps and facial filters to alter true images, we are no longer surprised when a person turned out to be completely opposite of their projected image.

That said, the lack of authenticism is nothing new, especially when it comes to living out our confession of being Christ followers. It’s as old as the Bible itself. We read that Jesus called out the religious leaders for being white-washed to the outside world, fake filtered, but being full of death in reality. Consider just a sampling of scripture passages that address false images even in Biblical times:

James 1; If you claim faith but speak evil, your faith is worthless.

Isaiah 29; People honor me in word but their hearts are far from me.

1 John 1; If we profess to have no sin, we are liars…and we make Him out to be a liar.

1 Corinthians 13; If I prophecy, display knowledge and move mountains by faith, but don’t show love, my faith is worthless.

Mark 13; False Christs will rise and miracles and lead even the faithful astray.

The central theme of these passages is about presenting a false outer image that contradicts what is in our hearts. The fallacy of this approach to our public profession of our faith is that God knows and sees what lies behind our filtered image, our hearts and our thoughts. There is nothing artificial about a God who knows all, sees all, hears all-nothing is hidden from Him. The danger for us is that scripture is clear about the coming price to be paid by anyone who deliberately leads others astray by presenting an AI version of our faith with outward images or lifestyles that distort the unfiltered Gospel of Christ. I am a flawed person, imperfect to the core. But my hope is that instead of hiding behind a filter that conceals those flaws, they may be seen as covered by God’s grace in a way that will reveal His likeness through my weaknesses, my mess as a message, my past as His story through me.

Don’t misunderstand me, I wish I looked a bit more like a George Clooney and a bit less like Mr. Rogers. It would serve me better in my bachelorhood. But in my faith journey, I’d rather walk in authenticity according to Romans 13:14; “Clothe yourself with the presence (true image) of the Lord Jesus Christ,” (italics mine). There is no room for artificial filters in a world that is desperate to see the real hope in an unaltered Christ.