The Real Deal

First, I would like to apologize if this article sounds like a rant even though it kind of is. I am really concerned about the sincerity of Christians these days. Many seem to live in a world of pretense and are just about keeping up appearances, when God cares more about a heart that is right with Him rather than facades.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:11-15

When we are taking pride in appearances, we are not fearing the Lord and we are definitely not controlled by the love of Christ, but rather the opinions of men. If we are concerned more about our appearance than our heart then we have not died to self, so we cannot live for Christ. If we are not living for Christ, then we are not in God’s will. I see too much of this among us Christians today. We will manipulate and pretend to make it seem like we are influential, knowing the right people and being recognized by men. This is not of God, and in doing so we will not only be deceiving others, but ourselves. However, we can’t deceive God because He knows what is in our hearts.

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds. Jeremiah 17:9-10

This is why our Lord Jesus did not trust even the people who saw His signs and believed in Him because He knew their hearts. He knows exactly what is in all of our hearts. I must confess that sometimes I am ashamed what is in my heart and mind. This is why we must have a renewed mind to know the Lord’s good and perfect will, and we should ask Him to create in us a clean heart like King David did.

It is scary to me how manipulation can come so easily to mere man. I have to be looking at my thoughts, my words and my actions a lot to examine if I too am being a manipulator walking around with a deceptive heart. If so, this means I would be entrapped by sin and not set free by the Son because who the Son sets free is free indeed. I know I can’t be critical of others without looking at myself using the Bible as a mirror.  I know many of us as Christians can be very critical of others because they are not living up to our standards. That is not my intention in this article. Oswald Chambers wrote about critical Christians in his book, Utmost for His Highest.

It is impossible to enter into communion with God when we are in a critical mood. A critical mindset makes us hard and vindictive and cruel. It leaves us with the flattering idea that we are better than others. Jesus says that his disciples must cultivate the uncritical temper. This cultivation must happen again and again; we can’t do it once and be done with it.

There is no getting away from the penetrating gaze of Jesus. He tells us that if we see a speck in another’s eye, it means we have a plank in our own. Every wrong we see in another Jesus finds in us. Every time we judge another, we condemn ourselves (Romans 2:17–21). We must stop using a measuring stick for other people. There is always one fact more, in every person’s case, about which we know nothing.

This is true, I don’t understand why people are the way they are because there is more going on with them than I can see. And there is even more to me that not even I, but only God can understand. However, I believe, I and other Christians should be the real deal. We should not be pretending to be someone we are not and trying to keep up appearances. But instead, we should live authentic lives in Christ.