Deceitful Pretense

Last week, we looked at the right way to dress up that will bring us growth -- imitating Christ towards perfection. This is a slow and painful process of constantly looking into the mirror of His Word, and being taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness. (2Tim3:16). This is a process that works inside out. This growth process constantly reminds us about what we lack in love, humility, forgiveness and faithful response to suffering. This reminds us that by ourselves we are selfish, proud, unforgiving and looking out for self-gratification, and that we need to lean heavily on His grace to bring forth the fruit of righteousness.

This is much like how a small manufacturing company would like to emulate a leader that has already grown to enormous proportions. It would want to emulate the engineering processes that guarantee quality work-products, the training methodologies that produce well-equipped work-force, and HR practices that keep the work-force motivated, for the industry-leader. However, this is a slow process that can not be completed overnight. This company would need to identify gaps, bring changes to bridge the gaps, and let the processes, methodologies and practices mature. Growing to be a Son of God is very much the same except that we grow by leaning on HIS grace and not on our own efforts.

Since this is often painfully slow, most of us often look for a quick way to grow. We look out for short-cuts that will quickly take us where we want to be and in the process we are deceived. Since there is no short-cut to growth, we often find ways that give us a feeling of having grown, where in reality we have not progressed much. We start focusing on the outward results without bothering if anything has changed on the inside. This is akin to a small company learning to advertise like a leader while continuing to produce inferior products. Or worse still, a company deciding to produce counterfeits and be an impostor in a market place that has unsuspecting consumers. This is what a desire for quick-gratification often leads us to.

It is the same in the spiritual world too. Paul warns Timothy that in the last days, there will be people 'having a form of godliness but denying its power". On the outward they will look like godly people – either professing to be godly people, or showing themselves to be godly with all external marks of godliness – but denying the fruit of godliness. Instead of loving others more than themselves, they will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money. Instead of regarding others as honorable than themselves, they will be boastful, proud, abusive and disobedient to parents. Instead of forgiving others as they themselves have been forgiven by the Heavenly father, they will be without love, unforgiving, slanderous and brutal. Instead of being patient in suffering, they will be ungrateful, unholy and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2Tim3:2-5)

Why does this happen in the spiritual world? It could be because we, like the Pharisees, love praise from men more than praise from God (John 12:43). The Pharisees loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners to be seen by men (Mat 6:5). When they fasted they looked somber and disfigured their faces to show men they were fasting (Mat 6:16). When they gave to the needy, they announced it with trumpets in public places. Do we spend time with God alone in our rooms more than we spend in community worship? If not, we better beware of the trap of enacting righteousness before men to be seen by them. Jesus warns that such people have received their reward in full.

If we are not playing out to the crowd, we could be playing out to God himself. We do this when we trust God for this life alone and for things of this world. In a world that is heavily focused on wealth, success and fame, we could be attempting to deceive God, hoping to be blessed. We try to hide the dirt inside and hope that God will be pleased by our prayers and praises. But rather than deceiving God, we will be deceiving ourselves. For God is not fooled by our appearances. Paul warns the Ephesians, "No immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God . . . for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient (Eph 5:5,6)

A third possibility is that our conscience could have become seared as with a hot iron. We might listen to the word but not do what it says. The Bible likens such a person to a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:23,24). Paul calls them as men who are always learning but never acknowledging the truth.

Where do we stand today ? Are we imitating Christ and growing to be like him, or are we being an impostor masquerading as Christ? The difference is in the intention. The imitator is looking up to Christ, while the impostor is looking out to deceive. While we find how fallen we are, we could either be driven to our knees in humility, painfully conscious of our insufficiency and seeking His grace, or we could be driven to put up a facade of righteousness, unwilling to admit our inadequacy. A dangerous line divides the Imitators and Impostors. On which side are you?