The Faithful Fox Podcast
'The Faithful Fox' delivers spiritual wisdom with a side of unfiltered humor as the Jooseman tackles faith, life, and everything in between – because being holy doesn't mean you can't be hilarious
The Faithful Fox Podcast
Episode 6: God Prefers the Real You
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?
What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Faithful Fox. I'm your host, the one and only Juice man. So picture this You're sitting there with a nice glass of whiskey yes, whiskey, not grape juice scrolling through some pretty questionable Netflix content and you drop the F-bomb. Because, well, because life happened and you know what hits you. You bet half the people at church would clutch their pearls if they knew their fellow believer was living like this. But here's the thing, and this is what we're diving into today. I think God and I are doing just fine. In fact, I think he might actually prefer the real me over the fake church me I used to put on every Sunday. Today we're talking about why it's totally okay no, no, scratch that why it's better to not be a typical Christian. We're going to look at what God actually cares about, check out Jesus's actual friend group, and I'm going to give you permission to be authentically you. But first let's get this party started to be authentically you.
Speaker 2:But first let's get this party started away. Our sin, yeah, your words give me grace and you're here in this place. I've been blind by your holy light. Give me blessings from above when I broadcast. Welcome to the Faithful Fox Podcast.
Speaker 1: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 about choosing the next king and he drops this bomb. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Boom, right there. God doesn't care about your church performance, folks, he cares about your heart. Now, this segment is Jesus's actual friends group.
Speaker 2:He's got friends on the other side. Let's talk about the original squad, shall we? This segment is Jesus' actual friends group.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the original squad, shall we? Because if Jesus was building his team today, I guarantee you the church nominating committee would have some serious concerns. First up, matthew the tax collector. This dude was basically the first century equivalent of that guy who worked for the IRS and also runs a payday loan business Not exactly deacon material, am I right? Then we got Peter and bless his heart, but this man had the emotional regulation of a toddler who missed nap time. One minute he's walking on water and the next he's cutting off ears with a sword. I mean, the guy literally cursed and denied knowing Jesus when things got tough. That's some serious vocabulary there, pete. And don't even get me started on the Sons of Thunder, james and John. Jesus literally nicknamed them after a weather phenomenon because they wanted to call down fire on people.
Speaker 1:These weren't your typical Sunday school boys, people, and you know what. Jesus chose them on purpose. He didn't pick the guy who had his life together, memorized scripture and never said a bad word. He picked real people with real problems and real personalities. Speaking of real, hypothetically speaking anyway. Imagine you're at a church barbecue, right? Everyone's being super polite talking about their blessings and their journey. Meanwhile you're over there thinking about how you binged watched an entire season of something probably inappropriate and you're pretty sure you about how you binged watched an entire season of something probably inappropriate, and you're pretty sure you used some creative language when you stubbed your toe this morning. But here's what's crazy that real version of you, that's who God wants at his table, not the sanitized, pinterest-perfect version you think you need to be. Which brings us to our next segment the permission slip from God.
Speaker 2:I come in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:So here's your official permission slip, signed by the big guy himself. You don't have to be perfect to be loved by God. You don't have to clean up your language, stop enjoying that craft beer or pretend you only listen to worship music. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying go wild and use faith as an excuse to be a terrible person, but there's a massive difference between being authentic and being destructive. See, the problem with typical Christianity is that it's often more about following a checklist than following Jesus. Don't drink, don't swear, don't watch anything fun, always smile, always say you're blessed when someone asks how you're doing. But Jesus hung out with prostitutes and partied at weddings and yeah, that wasn't grape juice, they were drinking folks. He called religious leaders snakes and hypocrites, which, let's be honest, probably wasn't considered polite conversation back then either.
Speaker 1:The truth is, god created you with your personality, your sense of humor, your way of seeing the world. When you try to stuff all that into some cookie cutter Christian mold, you're actually hiding the masterpiece he made. You know what's beautiful about 1 Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7? It's not just that God looks at our heart instead of our appearance. It's that he sees our hearts All of it, the good parts, the messy parts, the parts you're working on and, honestly, the parts you've given up trying to fix, and he loves what he sees and he loves what he sees.
Speaker 1:So maybe it's time to stop performing Christianity and start living it. Maybe it's time to let the people at church see the real you, whiskey and all. Maybe it's time to trust that the God who chose fishermen and tax collectors, might actually like your authentic, imperfect, beautifully human heart. Because here's the thing when you're real with God and real with others, that's when faith gets interesting, that's when community becomes genuine, that's when people start seeing Jesus in you, not because you're perfect, but because you're real. As we wrap up today, I want you to hear this loud and clear God doesn't need you to be a typical Christian. He needs you to be you, the you he created, the you he loves, the you he has plans for. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Your heart, not your vocabulary, not your weekend activities, not your streaming history. Your heart is what matters to him and if your heart is seeking him, if your heart wants to love others, well, if your heart is growing in faith, then you are exactly where you need to be.
Speaker 1:So go ahead, be authentically. You love God with your whole heart, love others well and trust that the creator of the universe might actually enjoy your company just as you are. Thanks for hanging out with me today on the Faithful Fox. Until next time, keep it real, keep it faithful and remember you are loved exactly as you are. Peace out you.
