Remember the 1990 movie, Pretty Woman? Julia Roberts plays a beautiful woman of the streets who meets Richard Gere; he’s a distant and cold, money-crazy business man who hires her. As they begin to drop their masks and show their true selves to each other, they discover mutual kindness and respect for each other’s quirks and inner qualities. He sees a deeper integrity in her, though others mock her; and she see feels compassion for his pain. This leads each of them to want to be different. So they leave behind destructive former lifestyles to begin a vulnerable, but authentic, life together.
Change happened because of their honesty with each other. Deep honesty is the way to connect to God’s presence, which is grace. This is at the heart of everything Jesus teaches. The apostles get jealous that other healers are using Jesus’ name to cast out demons. Shouldn’t Jesus stop them? But Jesus knows that the power of God works through authenticity and a sincere heart. “Any person who is doing mighty deeds in my name is not against us—they’re for us!”
Even the smallest kindness done to someone else is a sign that God’s grace is being activated and increased in the world. So, the person doing the kindness will be rewarded—even if they don’t know exactly who God or Jesus really are. God can be very tolerant, because only God knows the heart of that person. For us, holiness is removing all the barriers to being our authentic selves in the world, and then open ourselves completely to Jesus’ guidance.