Dear Posers: Stop Faking it!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 Msg version)

Are you tired of phonies? Tired of posers? Fakers who claim one thing and live completely opposite of their words? Me too! Not to sound hypocritical because I have my faults, I’m sure you have yours as well. I just can’t stand it when someone has this “holier than thou” attitude and acts judgmentally – going around convicting people of their sins and or pointing out other people’s flaws when all along they aren’t being honest with themselves. Sometimes I think people like that are so afraid of facing their own issues and struggles that it is just easier to point out the issues and struggles in others instead. The problem is I’m tired of these modern day Pharisees standing up and being the “poster children” for what a Christian represents. That model of Christianity is hateful, judgmental, and often hypocritical. It preaches raising the standard high but hardly ever addresses spiritual maturity, discipleship, personal accountability or holiness. This fundamental Christianity is hell bent on damning people to hell, protesting at soldier’s graves, slamming other “Christians” because of differences or because they don’t have the same translation of bible as they do, goading and harassing single parents because of their choice to live and raise their children alone…yet never attempting to try and understand their circumstances and situations.

I’m tired of this false representation of Christ in our world! It grinds on me like course sandpaper to the skin. Would Jesus really have acted this way? If this is what Christ-like love looks like, then I want nothing to do with it! That is not the Christ I follow! The Jesus I know, had more harsh things to say to the fakers, the arrogant teachers of scripture, the actors praying in the streets…He had more harsh things to say to these hypocrites than he had to say to the lost, the lonely, the downtrodden – the empty.

Why was Jesus so rough on these teachers and posers over others? Why them? For starters there is the obvious, they treated scripture blatantly incorrect. They twisted it to apply to everyone besides themselves. Who was to benefit from such usage of scripture? It certainly wasn’t God. The Pharisees, teachers of scriptures had so many laws that no one could go through a day without breaking at least one of them. On top of this inappropriate application of God’s word, there was also the irreverent attitude, a sense of importance and arrogance that accompanied their authority. Jesus even called the Pharisees hypocrites, vipers, whitewashed graves. He went on to say that they outwardly looked bright and clean, but inside they were full of dead men’s bones (Matt 23). That’s pretty harsh! The Sadducees weren’t off the hook either, Jesus declared that these teachers and scribes had made His Father’s temple a den of thieves (Mark 11:15-18).

Long story short, if we know better and still live contrary to what we preach we too are posers…we too are fakers. This above all things scares me. James 3:1 says that preachers and teachers of God Word will be judged more harshly. Why? Because if we claim to know God’s word and that of what He desires of us and do not hold ourselves first and foremost to His standards of living then we are truly in a heap of trouble. How dare any of us cast judgment on the sinner before we are on our knees daily submitting whole heartedly to Christ in every aspect of our lives? I’m not sure about you, but I do not want to be a faker for Christ…it’s all or nothing. When we as Christians can live like Christ, act like Christ and love like Christ, then and only then will we have the power to change this world around us for His glory.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. I am not advocating any kind of liberal application of God’s Word towards sin, accountability and loose living…what I am advocating and railing against is hypocritical, “you know better” behavior that is so pervasive in the modern church from pastors on down to laity in the pews. Godly living is required of His people! Without it, we are worse off than anyone who is still ignorant to God and in the darkness of sin within our world. Either act and live like Christ or get out of the way and stop the damage that you are inflicting on this world through your half and half lifestyle. It’s either you live for Christ or you don’t.

This for me is a very difficult pill to swallow so to speak. It is a very unpopular message…but I am convicted of it, I have been the hypocrite, the actor at times and I know God requires more from me. Yes God’s grace is sufficient, yet what we do with that grace once we know how to live is on us. Get on with it, live it and cast off the poser in us all.