The Antidote For Play Acting

And the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Luke 13:15,16

Have you ever had God ask you a direct question about your internal world? Jesus knew how to ask good, heart-probing questions to the people who had learned to play the pretend game so well. He could pinpoint the exact area that stood in the way of any person coming to know Him in a personal way. The religious leaders of His day had become masters at the game of hypocrisy. They used words and actions to attempt to cover up the hidden agendas, motives, and deceptions of their own heart. Their mantra in life was, “I am what I pretend to be.” Apparently they had become quite good at fooling other people and maybe even at fooling themselves. But Jesus wasn’t fooled and He had no trouble in letting them know what He saw. Having been confronted with such truth, what would they choose to do with it?

I ask myself the same question this morning. I am learning the wisdom and necessity of coming to God on a daily basis and asking Him to reveal my own heart to me. For if I do not allow Him to “search me and know me” I will too easily walk through my day in a pretend mode. So I must go to Him and ask Him to show me where I am being a hypocrite, where I am being judgmental, where I am being unloving, where I am harboring hidden agendas and wrong attitudes. I cannot trust what others might say about me. I cannot even trust what I think of myself. God is the only One who knows me thoroughly.

It is very much like exploratory surgery. The purpose is to expose the problem and remove it. God wants to reveal truths to me about myself in order to bring about change. Not behavior modification but genuine transformation. May I stop assuming the role of a stage character in any area of my life and allow God to make me genuine and authentic, so that what is seen on the outside is a true reflection of what is on the inside.

Father, there are things You will show me about myself. I look to You for each revelation and desire change to come. Amen.