Faith like leather

This post is specifically aimed at people who claim to be Christian:

Faith (specifically Christian faith) is actually a lot like leather in my thoughts, I mean, leather doesn't have the same gift of salvation BUT ... there are two types of leather. There's the genuine stuff, the kind you buy in Italy, and it just lasts forever (I use this particular reference because my parents just bought me a leather bag from Italy.) But then there's the imitation leather, the kind that looks really good, looks really similar to the genuine stuff but fades & gets tatty after a while.

Just like this, there are the Christians that pray all the right prayers, sing their lungs out at church, encourage everyone with the right words, read their bible everyday and every night. But their motives are selfish, and highly attention seeking. They sing their lungs out, so everyone can hear, they encourage so everyone can see how great they are. How do I know these are their motives? Because that was me. And sometimes I still do these things to show off.

And then there are the Christians who genuinely pray to build up their relationship with God, who sing their lungs out to woship God and to encourage those around them, and who use their words of encouragement to GENUINELY encourage those around them.

The difference? Understanding. A 'Christian' can have all the knowledge in the world about their faith. They can use that knowledge to encourage. But the difference comes when they understand. They can know that Jesus died for them. And then they can understand that the ruler and designer of this entire world loved them so much he would die one of the most agonizing deaths imaginable reserved for the lowest of criminals. They can even know that without coming fully to grips with it. They can know that 'In the beginning God created the heavens and earth' and then they can understand that God has created and perfectly designed every beautiful thing they have ever laid their beautiful eyes on. And he perfectly created the wonderful things that we cannot see. Like our brains.

So is your faith genuine or imitation?