Have you ever seen footage of an American bald eagle on television or in a movie? It’s awe-inspiring, right? I mean, these glorious creatures soar effortlessly on the thermals with a look in their eyes that inspires fear in their prey. They seem to rule over nature, right? And then, when they open their beaks, you hear the terrifying sound of their majestic call echoing through the mountains and canyons. Man, it’s so impressive!

Except that my 8 year-old daughter recently came home from a school field trip where she learned something shocking about those bald eagles. It turns out that television and movie producers are playing a trick on us. You see, whenever you see a bald eagle on TV and hear their call, you’re being fooled. The producers replace the actual bald eagle call with the sound of the red-tailed hawk. Apparently, the call of the bald eagle isn’t all that majestic. In reality, it sounds more like the pitiful gobble or squawk of an old turkey. TV producers aren’t very impressed by it, so to make bald eagles seem cooler than they really are, they just edit in the sound of a red-tailed hawk, which is much fancier and more noble-sounding. Dang. I don’t know about you, but I feel so used…

Anyway, I bring that up to ask you this question which is very important: Are you acting like that televised bald eagle? In other words, are you putting on a show with your friends and the folks at your church so that you’ll look really impressive? Are you going around acting like everything is great and you’re doing fabulously when the truth is that you’re squawking like an old, injured turkey on the inside? Are you pretending that you’ve got it all together when the truth is that you’re up to your neck in problems and troubles and you’re about to drown?

Hey Christians, why are we so obsessed with putting on a show?! Why does everyone act like they don’t need each other? We’re all hobbling and struggling to make it to the end of the week, right? Am I the only one who needs constant prayer? I can’t be the only person who needs loving people to listen to my troubles and tell me they’ve got my back! Let’s get real. Let’s stop putting on a show. If you sound like a turkey, let it fly! We’re all weak. We all need Jesus and we all need each other. Squawk!