When My Walk Doesn’t Match My Talk
For years, I thought I was doing fine spiritually because I knew how to play church.
My grandfather was a pastor, and I grew up around the rhythms of church life. I knew if I showed up on Sunday, I wouldn’t get that midweek phone call checking in. And as long as I was in the pew, dressed right, shaking hands, and smiling at the right times, no one questioned me.
It didn’t matter what I did Monday through Saturday. It didn’t matter what I thought about when no one else was around. I could look the part on Sunday, and that was enough to convince myself — and others — that I was “right with God.”
But deep down, I wasn’t walking with Jesus. I was impersonating faith, not imitating Christ.
And here’s what I’ve learned: in the Appalachian mountains — and really anywhere there’s church culture — we know how to do the same thing. We know how to blend in. We know how to polish up on Sunday and keep the struggles tucked away.
But when we strip away the Sunday clothes, the polite small talk, and the highlight reel, the real question lingers:
👉 If my walk doesn’t match my talk, am I really saved?
That’s the question many of us are too afraid to say out loud. But it’s the one we desperately need to wrestle with.
The Struggle is Real — and It Doesn’t Mean You’re Lost
First, let’s admit it: the struggle is real. Even Paul, the apostle who planted churches and wrote much of the New Testament, confessed:
“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19 ESV)
Paul knew what it felt like for his walk not to line up with his talk. He knew the tension of wanting to follow Jesus but stumbling along the way.
That’s important, because some of us assume that if we still wrestle with sin, maybe we’re not saved. But the truth is this: the presence of struggle often proves you belong to Jesus.
Think about it: a dead heart doesn’t wrestle. It sins without remorse. But a new heart, awakened by the Spirit, feels the tension. Conviction is not the sign that God has left you; it’s the sign He is present in you.
The Danger of Impersonation — Looking Alive While Dead Inside
But here’s the danger — and it’s real in our culture. The danger isn’t that we struggle; it’s that we learn to fake it.
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones.” (Matthew 23:27 ESV)
That’s impersonation. It’s an outward show of religion without inward transformation. And if we’re honest, this runs deep in our mountain communities.
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We know how to dress right, sit in the right pew, bow our heads, and shake the preacher’s hand.
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But we also know how to hide our struggles, bury our sin, and keep anyone from seeing the real us.
The problem with impersonation is that it convinces us we’re okay when, in fact, we might be far from God. It replaces a living relationship with Jesus with a hollow performance of religion.
The Question Isn’t “Do You Ever Sin?” — It’s “What Do You Do When You Sin?”
Here’s the truth: Christians still sin. We still stumble. But the mark of real faith isn’t perfection — it’s repentance.
1 John 1:6–9 says:
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Walking in the light doesn’t mean you never sin. It means you don’t hide it. You confess it. You bring it into the open where grace can heal it.
The difference is this:
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Impersonation hides sin and keeps the show going.
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Imitation confesses sin and lets Jesus keep shaping you.
The question isn’t, “Do I ever sin?” The real question is, “When I sin, what do I do with it?”
Condemnation vs. Conviction
Here’s another important distinction: condemnation and conviction are not the same thing.
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Condemnation whispers: “You’re not really saved. You’re a fake. You’ll never measure up.”
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Conviction says: “You are mine. That doesn’t belong in your life anymore. Come back to Me.”
Romans 8:1 says: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
If you’re in Christ, God will convict you to bring you back, but He will never condemn you to push you away.
Identity Over Performance
Ephesians 2:8–9 anchors us:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Our salvation is not about how steady our steps are. It’s about who we’re walking with.
Jesus walked perfectly in our place. His obedience, His righteousness, His sacrifice — that’s what saves us. Not our Sunday attendance. Not our appearance. Not our ability to keep it all together.
And Philippians 1:6 gives us this promise: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
That means your story isn’t over yet. He’s still working on you.
A Challenge for This Week
So let me challenge you with something practical:
Bring one hidden struggle into the light this week.
Tell a trusted friend, mentor, or pastor. Stop carrying it alone. Stop hiding behind impersonation. Freedom is found in honesty, in confession, in grace.
Because the truth is — you don’t belong to God because you walk perfectly. You belong because Jesus walked perfectly for you.
Reflection Questions:
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When I sin, do I hide it or bring it to Jesus?
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Am I impersonating religion, or imitating Christ as His beloved child?
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Do I place my confidence in my performance or in His finished work?
Friend, if your walk doesn’t always match your talk—you’re not alone. But don’t settle for pretending. Jesus has already paid the price for your forgiveness. He invites you to walk with Him, step by step, not in shame but in grace.
✨ Don’t just play church. Don’t just impersonate. Step into the light. Start imitating. Walk as a beloved child of God.
