Am I Fake?
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That’s the question God asked me… And as we look towards this new year… I think it is a question we all need to consider…
You see… We live in a “fake” world… But what does that mean?
Definitions of “Fake”:
“Having a false or misleading appearance; fraudulent” (American Heritage Dictionary)
“Not true, real, or genuine… one that is not what it purports to be… a worthless imitation...” (Merriam-Webster)
If we were to apply this to people… we would say that it means to be a “hypocrite”… right?
We have examples of this all over our world.
Just look at Facebook, Twitter, Tik-Tok…
People are constantly sharing pics… videos… vlogs… that are edited… or posed in such a way as to make their lives look like the most amazing… most awesome… most perfect life…
OR…
They are presenting drama under the guise of “toxic attitudes”… mis-treatment… etc… you know, the “Karens” of the world… in order to hide… or give permission to… their own faults…
Our world is all about appearances…
That’s why we have photo and video editors… camera filters… photoshop… etc… So we can modify our pics… so we can remove any unwanted things, and only show the world what we want people to see…
It’s getting harder and harder to tell what is real… and what is fake.
Why?!?!?
What’s it all about?
— Popularity — Fame — Getting the “likes”…
Am I wrong?!?!
What to be an “influencer”? (This is awesome!)
You don’t even have to actually help people… or provide any actual, real, useful information!
Just be crazy… Just do crazy stuff… Just present “outlandish”, crazy, “off the wall” ideas…
Oh! But do it in a way that people want to see and hear you!!!
So… Be political… be an activist… bounce around on every political and social “bandwagon” that gains popularity… Then you’ll make lots of money… and people will like you…
Cause remember… “It’s all about the Likes!”
You’re not important… unless you have 1,000’s of followers…
You’re not relevant… unless you have 1,000’s of followers…
According to Facebook, You’re not even a church… unless you have 1,000’s of followers.
You want to be popular? You want to be accepted?
Then follow… talk about… agree with the “popular” ideology!
It’s ALL Fake!!!
When you look at their real lives… Their real ideologies… There’s trouble… There’s strife… There’s failure… They make mistakes… get angry… avoid people… lack love…
BUT…
The Church isn’t like that… is it?!?
We don’t exhibit those characteristics… right?
You see… That’s the question God asked me… and told me to ask:
Are we FAKE Christians?
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?
39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’
45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
It seems that Jesus thought that we could be…
9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.”
10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And…
48 But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’
49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards,
50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know.
51 He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Christ is talking about “Christians”… about “believers”… and He says He will put them “with the hypocrites”…
What is a “hypocrite”?
“One who assumes a false appearance; … whoo feigns to be what he is not; or to feel or believe what he does not actually feel or believe;… a pretender to virtue or piety.” (American Heritage Dictionary)
Are we FAKE Christians?
Sure, we say that we “Love our neighbor as [ourselves]” … and that “We’re all about the one!”
BUT… Is that true?!? Are we really?
It’s easy for us to get apathetic and comfortable… and to begin to hide behind our “Christian works”… our “loving” outreach… even our “religious” observances… and to “miss” the “least of these”.
Rebecca van Noord puts it this way:
“She might be the one we tend to avoid—the member of a small group who always states the obvious or brings up topics unrelated to the discussion at hand. I’m always a bit impatient for her to finish speaking so that others can offer more insightful comments, but generally her comments are followed by only awkward pauses. Or, he’s the person we’re attempting to avoid after church and small group because he always repeats the story about his grandkids that we’ve heard more than just a few times. I hope someone else will be there for him. If I’m feeling extra congenial, I might chat with him—always good to earn some kindness points. I might approach community this way, but reading Romans 12:9-16 convicts me.”
Look at Romans 12:9-13:7
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval;
4 for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.
6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing.
7 Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
This is Paul’s instructions on building up the community… on displaying the Love of Christ.
Again, van Noord states: “The list of instructions on building up the community quickly reveals the selfish bent of my motives.”
What are those instructions?
Let’s take a look at them:
— “Let Love be genuine” (9)… “ho Agape” - (noun) “Christian Love”, or the “Christ’s Love”.... “anypokritos” - “without hypocrisy”
— “Hate what is evil.” (9)… “apostygountes” - (present, active) “hate, abhor, loathe”.... “poneron” - “wicked, worthless, has no value”
— “Hold onto what is good.” (9)… “kallomenoi” - “join, cling to”.... “agathos” - “good moral qualities, value”
What is good?
Jesus tells us “only God is good.” (Mk 10:18)
— So… just in verse 9, (based on those definitions) we are told to “Let Christian Love be genuine (without hypocrisy), to hate what is of no value to Christian Love, and to cling to God.”
That means that we are to “hate”… to avoid… to stand against… anything that stands against “Christian Love”… anything that brings division instead of unity…
Then in verse 10, Paul says:
— “Love one another with mutual affection.” (10)… the Greek here is: “philidelphia” - “Brotherly Love”… “allelous” - “each other”… “philostorgoi” - “be devoted to”…
— “outdo each other in showing honor” (10)… the key word here is: “proegoumenoi” - “eagerly put others above yourself”…
— So, verse 10 says… “Be devoted to each other in Brotherly Love, eagerly honoring others above yourself.”
There’s so much there!
And we’ve only touched the first tow verses!
Look at what’s left:
Romans 12:11–19 (NRSV)
11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God… ”
20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Paul says all of this right after having talked about the spiritual gifts God has given the Church.
6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;
7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;
8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
We are not supposed to approach Church… to approach Bible study… to approach “coming together”… as a time to “get fed!”
It is not about the pastor “feeding” you!
The Faith community… the Church… is a familial setting…
Our gifts… our Faith… our abilities… are meant to be used to “lift up”… to encourage… to strengthen… and develop each other!
17 Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another.
Our gifts and calling are not meant to be used for selfish gain…
They are meant to be used in service of others…
Look at Mk 10:45
45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
How are you serving?
How are you using your gifts to build others up?
Is our Love building up our community? Our Church? Our families?
“ho Agape”… “Christian Love”… the Love Christ brought into this world… changes the world because it is not hypocritical… It’s not “FAKE”… it is real!!!!
Is Ours?
Are we seeking to be truly follow Christ… to “be Holy as He is Holy”?
Or… Are we just putting on our “Church face”?
16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
There can be no falseness in that…
We are called to die to ourselves… to our “old lives”… to our “worldly ways”… to the lust, greed, and desires of the flesh that cause us to “put on our Church face”… to love… and to serve… only those who benefit our “egos”…
And to “live in Christ”…
(communion)
This year… let’s be a church that isn’t “fake”… whose Love is real… who endeavors to allow God to show us when our lives are becoming less Holy and more “fake”.