Why do I pretend to be someone or something that I’m not?
Matthew 23:27-28“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. . . . Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Mark 12:38-40Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”
Pride—everyone wants to look honorable and important in the eyes of their peers. But looking honorable and having an honorable heart are two different things. The temporary effects of pretending may accomplish our purpose, but we will regret the long-term results.
2 Corinthians 4:1-7Since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
1 Thessalonians 2:5Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!
Flattery—We may use flattery to pretend we like someone in order to get something from them. Transparency may require a lot of humility, but in the end, the impression we make on others will be genuine. God works through humble (or fragile) vessels.
Genesis 27:5-19, 35-36Then she [Rebekah] took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread. So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?” Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” . . . Isaac said [to Esau], “Your brother [Jacob] was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”
Genesis 29:16-25When Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
Joshua 9:3-22When the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. . . . “But who are you?” Joshua demanded. “Where do you come from?” They answered, “Your servants have come from a very distant country.”
1 Samuel 28:7-12Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.” So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men. “I have to talk to a man who has died,” he said. “Will you call up his spirit for me?” “Are you trying to get me killed?” the woman demanded. “You know that Saul has outlawed all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead. Why are you setting a trap for me?” But Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord and promised, “As surely as the Lord lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this.” Finally, the woman said, “Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?” “Call up Samuel,” Saul replied. When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, “You’ve deceived me! You are Saul!”
1 Kings 14:1-6At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. So Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as my wife. Then go to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh—the man who told me I would become king. Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and ask him what will happen to the boy.” So Jeroboam’s wife went to Ahijah’s home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife will come here, pretending to be someone else. She will ask you about her son, for he is very sick. Give her the answer I give you.” So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for you.”
Selfishness—It is not uncommon for us to act selfishly to get what we want, while disguising our true motives. The Bible includes many accounts, beginning with the serpent’s deception of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), of someone tricking someone else to accomplish a selfishly dishonest purpose. Our self-centered actions never have the wellbeing of other people in mind, but are all about getting what we desire.
