We all do it from time to time within our lives and the lives of those around us. Pretending is just another word for hypocrisy and the implications are, as Shakespeare said: "All the world is a stage and we are but actors." The actors of old were called hypocrites as they portrayed someone whom they weren't. It's no different today. Actors sometimes get so into their role that they live out the hypocrisy in their real lives (which are really fake). Sometimes we see Christians who do just this as well. They go to church on Sunday and Wednesday nights, take communion and drop their dollar in the offering plate like the person next to them. All the while they are contemplating their lives lived outside the "church" and in private. Recent news articles outlined atrocities against children within alleged Christian groups. Everyone from pastors to parishioners are included in the dark world of pretending to be Christian. This is part of the reason Jesus tells the true Christian to trust no one. No one. Not one. There is a television show entitled: "Who Do You Think You Are?" which is about discovering your past and the past of your families. Many have been surprised by what they discovered. Pretending can be a subconscious thing or so ingrained into family history to hide the dark secrets of the past.
You and I pretend when we want to fulfill our sinful selfish desires. We pretend that it's okay. This is a sign of non-repentance by the believer. We pretend to give up our sin but instead put it in another room in the house where we can close the door pretending that no one can see. God sees. Sometimes we pretend so much that we rationalize and justify our behavior into what we see as something good. I've done that and am pretty sure you have as well. Pretending we are going to share only for that sharing to turn into gossip. Telling people we will pray for them in any context with the intention to dismiss our commitment as soon as we have the next thought. Doing good to cover up the bad thus "equaling" out the two. Pretending is not helpful. It's not just Christians, it's all people who partake in this behavior. As the question goes, "So, who are you when no one is looking?" Should there be a 24 hour recording of all of your thoughts, actions and words; what would those around you see? That's just what God sees. Imagine if you will a check and balance system in place where all of your personal thoughts were spoken out loud all the time. Do you really want to be a pretender?
The serpent said, "Surely you won't die." and then we did. Pretending that God doesn't mean what he says gives us assurances that some who have died are in heaven when they aren't there at all. Burying someone in a cemetery with a cross on the headstone doesn't mean that person was a believer. Pretending makes the realization of what we do and don't do easier to swallow knowing we didn't do what we, as Christians, were to do while that person was still alive. Namely, speaking the Gospel to them, praying for and with them, and securing their inheritance in heaven. Pretending that the pastor is talking to someone else, believing Scripture read applies to others, and other such thinking is productive in furthering the enemies hold on the believer. Make the believer ineffective and he doesn't have to bother with them. Pretending is a lie. Pretending is something professed as true and acceptable when it's not. One point six million babies will be killed this year in the United States alone. Just because there is a law saying this murder is okay doesn't make it any less of a sin. Pretending isn't for the Christian. Pretending is for the sinner. Don't pretend to be something you may not be. If Jesus is living through you, there is no reason to pretend.
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