Monday, May 24, 2010

A whole lot of fakeness

“They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have not self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.”
2 Timothy 3:3-5


There are two kinds of things that are fake; the first kind of fake is an object which is made to look real or valuable in order to deceive people. This includes; fake nails, fake hair, fake hair color, fake body parts, fake tans, fake jewelry, and any other materialistic thing that looks real but is not.

Our second kind of fake comes in the form of people. These people claim to be someone who is not who or what they say they are and it is shown through their actions. Some of these people are such pros at displaying this type of fakeness it is very easy to be deceived. There were many people throughout the Bible who claimed to love God but were found fake when exposed to the light of Christ. There are many of us who have learned and mastered the act of being fake, even to the point of believing that we are sincere. We have learned how to display fake kindness, fake smiles, fake love, fake sincerity, fake obedience, fake trust, fake loyalty and the worst kind of fakeness, fake Christianity.

The harm in clothing ourselves with such fakeness can and will lead others astray, it brings confusion among the new believers, can be hurtful, and when the light of Christ is put upon us it will remove the fakeness and expose us for who we really are. Another thing we fail to realize is that when we continue to live this fake life we continue to harden our hearts, and we continue to bring sorrow and shame to the heart of God. Which for me is more devastating than anything, I never want to be more than what I really am, and I never want to be fake in my walk and love for God and His people. I want people to see the Jesus in me and not someone who claims to have Jesus but chooses to be a gossip, a person who compromises my faith, or display’s fake love, fake sincerity, or is a straddler of both God and the world.

Paul tells us in Titus that people who claim they know God, but deny Him by the way they live are despicable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good. (Titus 1:16)

So how can we be sure we are not living a life of fakeness? God tells us two ways, one comes from the book of Romans, “Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good.” Romans 12:9 Invest your time in helping others become better people. The second way is found in the book of 1 John, “If someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.” 1 John 2:4-6

There will come a point in our lives when wearing all this fakeness will become heavy, detrimental to our health and our relationship with Christ and others. There is no fakeness in Christ so if we have Christ living in us than we should have no fakeness within us. We should find beauty in who we are in Christ, we should not put on fakeness because we are afraid to stand alone or because we want the attention and praise of man. True followers of Christ put aside their selfish ambitions shoulder there cross daily and follow Him. They know that they never stand alone because Christ stands with them, and it is the praise of Him that matters the most.

Do you have a whole lot of fakeness going on?

Prayer: Lord strip me of any fakeness that I might be wearing so that I will not lead any of Your children astray. Forgive me if I have ever tried to be someone I am not. Amen