One of the embarrassing parts of being a Christian is seeing the obvious failure of yourself and other Christians to live up to the standards advocated by Jesus. Nevertheless, our frailties and failings are often what enable the glory of God to shine through. As Paul said in the fourth chapter of his second letter to the Corinthians:
“We have this treasure in clay jars, to show that the extraordinary power comes from God, and not from ourselves. We face all sorts of problems, but are not restrained. We have struggles, but not to the point of despair. We are pursued, but not abandoned. We are knocked down, but not destroyed. We always carry in our bodies the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus can also be revealed in our bodies.”
One of the paradoxes of the Christian faith is that people are often most attracted to the faith by seeing God at work in the life of a follower of Jesus, and people are often most repelled by seeing the failure of a follower of Jesus to live up to his or her calling. When we try to put on a visage or righteousness in front of others, we may succeed in temporarily hiding our brokenness, but we may also be stopping the glory of God shining through our brokenness.