DO NOT PRETEND!

Some Christians are living a false life; a pretentious life. They do all kinds of bad things and expect others to think they are good. We have a lot of fake people around. The best picture of a pretentious person is the picture of green snake in a green grass.

 In Galatians 2:11-14, St. Paul rebuked Peter for pretending. Peter has been eating together with some gentile converts. But as soon he saw some Jews, he withdrew from the practice. Paul couldn’t stomach that, and he confronted Peter for that pretentious attitude. We also have a case of pretence in Acts 5, about Ananias and Sapphira. They wanted to give impression to people that they had been generous with their donation. They lied that they submitted all the proceeds, whereas, it was only a part they had given. Hence, God handled them in His way. God abhors pretence. God says, "You are neither cold or hot"

Have you ever thought about how you have been pretentious? The offense of Peter was that of pretending...Ananias and Sapphira's sin is that of pretending... these people wanted to make it appear that things are the way they really are not. This is something that many people do. Are you a victim of that? Do you pretend to feel something you don’t feel? You are pretending when you give the impression that you are spiritual whereas you are disconnected from God. When you say well of people in their presence but despise them in their absence, you are pretending. When you smile when you are angry, you are pretending. God wants you to work on your life so that your mouth and heart would be at the same line; so that the gap between your actions and your heart can be bridged.