Grace or Pretense - More Than I Really Am (Part 1)

Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  (Mt 23:28, NKJV)

We do love to project an image, usually an image that is better than we really are.  When asked how we are doing we will usually respond with “Good”  or

“Fine”. We not only like to be ‘put together’ when we go out in public, we want to look better than in actuality we really are. This also leaks over into what we would consider to be the spiritual aspects of our lives.

We will seldom correct someone if they think we are more spiritual than we really are, pray more than we really do, spend more time with the Lord than we really do, read or study the Bible more than we really do, love more than we really do, care more than we really do, or have it together more than we really do.

We would never want our hearts to be fully revealed, our intentions to be fully known, or our motives be fully displayed. We like to appear better than we really are.  Hypocrisy is play acting, pretending to be something we are really not.  It is  trying to pull something over on the other person, so they will not see us as we really are.  Hypocrisy is void of humility and honesty.

Philip Yancy says in What's So Amazing About Grace?

There are only two alternatives to hypocrisy: perfection or honesty. Since I've never met a person who loves the Lord our God with all his heart, mind and soul, and loves his neighbor as himself, I do not view perfection as a realistic alternative. Our only option, then, is honesty that leads to repentance. By definition, grace must be received, and hypocrisy disguises our need to receive grace. When the masks fall, hypocrisy is exposed as an elaborate ruse to avoid grace.

 

In my post Thought of As Wise I wrote so who doesn’t like to be thought of as more spiritual than they really are? Or more holy? Or more connected to God? Or wiser? Or more learned? We could go on, but I am sure we all get the point. I don’t know how it goes in your life, but in mine, when people get those kind of notions about me, they only have to hang with me a short time to get over them.

 

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

(Ro 12:9,  NKJV)

Thought of As Wise

“Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.“ (Prov 17:28, NLT)

This verse really brings a smile to my face.  When I read it, I feel good!  I wish I could say that I am sure it is a spiritual reaction, but I am pretty well convinced it is my flesh.  My natural inclination seems to be towards shyness, quietness, and saying dumb things.  I am sure you now understand my reaction to this verse.

I haven’t shared it with a lot of friends, but after hearing it one did say, “Something about my flesh really likes that verse!”  Let’s face it, who doesn’t like to be thought of as better than they really are. I can remember a couple times this came to play in my childhood.

The first happened with baseball. It was my turn to toss the ball up in the air and hit it out to the guys in the field.  There were comments like “back up guys.”  I really like those comments! I tossed the ball up in the air quite a few times and never did connect to it with the bat. Sometimes I dream of tossing a baseball up in the air and trying to hit it with a bat. I can’t even do it in my dreams!

Next there was football. I was punting to cries of “Better back way up guys!”  Pride rose and fell very quickly. How it is possible to miss the ball completely when punting, I do not know. Much less when you try it as many time as I did and never got a foot on it.

Of course we are supposed to be talking about spiritual things, so who doesn’t like to be thought of as more spiritual than they really are? Or more holy? Or more connected to God? Or wiser? Or more learned? We could go on, but I am sure we all get the point. I don’t know how it goes in your life, but in mine, when people get those notions about me, they’ve only to hang with me a short time to get over them.

I have been an example of this verse many times in my life, not by playing it out as written, but by being a poster child of the opposite. I have heard it said that it is better to be thought of as a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.

I guess the only way to finish this up is to say that sometimes it is wiser and more intelligent not to say anything at all.