Everything you can fake

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: As my kids get older, what do I hope for them?

How do I help them understand for themselves: here’s what to avoid, and here’s stuff that doesn’t matter as much?

The only conclusion I can think of is what I’ve been learning myself.

It goes like this: Everything that can be faked is a variable.

Whether it’s dress, social niceties, or weird piercings (though, thankfully, we’re not there yet), it doesn’t matter.

What’s left are the things Paul talks about in Colossians 3.

Compassion (even on those who hate you). Humility (to see ourselves as we are). And an utterly undeserved unity with the rest of the believers.

These are the things that only come from the Holy Spirit living and moving inside of us.

So, I think, if I have to pick, I’m willing to let everything else slide.