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Pretense Leads to Burnout

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Sooner or later most of us will encounter a Christian who is wearing a mask. We find out the pious Christian we thought we knew isnt the Christ-centered person they appeared to be. It seems to happen all too often on the national news and, sadly, in our local church.

The reality is that most people wear some sort of mask. Were scared that without a facade, people will see our inadequacies. Were scared that people wont like us if they really knew us.

But, the apostle Paul reminded us in 2 Corinthians that “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away…and we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.”

Pauls message is that we can take off our masks, when we truly accept Christ into our hearts. Not only will we experience freedom, but Paul promises we will grow steadily in the image of Christ.

Lets face it – living a life of pretense is exhausting. We can avoid the burnout and live victoriously when we stop pretending. So, stop pretending and turn to Christ for your security. Then, youll be ready to tell others of the glorious freedom you found in Christ.

Implanted in Our Hearts

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I went to a local church in Argentina when I was a teenager. There were always two elderly people who were there very early. They always opened the chapel for the Tuesday and Thursday meetings, which started at 7:30 at night. These people would arrive at 5:00 p.m. They were both illiterate but they knew the Word of the Lord and they knew the law of the Lord.

I would arrive early from work and I went straight to the chapel. I would sit with these two elders in the corner of the church. I would get them talking until the crowd began to arrive, sometimes for an hour. It was the best! They would tell me illustrations that were earthy, very day to day, and apply Bible passages. I was always impressed how, though they were illiterate, the Word of God was implanted in them.

Thats what Jeremiah says, in the Bible, regarding the new covenant that was to come: “I will put my law in their minds and write them on their hearts.”

When we spend time with God, He implants His word in our hearts, too. Thats when things get exciting! Gods word is hidden in your heart, and it just starts coming out of you. It spills out into the lives of those around you! And it draws them to Jesus Christ. So, every day, if you possibly can, every day spend time in the Word of God and you will be used by God in a mighty way.

Smiling on the Outside

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One of my best friends in the whole world is David Hall from Arizona. He’s the Chairman of our Board of Directors, at this time, and has been for years.

Many years ago, when he was a successful young businessman he came to Jesus Christ. His wife brought him to a campaign we were having in a local church north of downtown Chicago. The thing that opened David Hall’s heart was this: apparently in my message I said, “There are some people smiling on the outside but crying on the inside.”

David Hall said to himself, “That’s me. He’s found me out. I’m putting on an act on the outside but inside I’m dying.” You know, the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can understand it?” The Lord answers His own question by saying, “I, the Lord, know the heart.”

Only God knows the heart. That’s why the Bible says, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” We don’t know what goes on inside a person. We may think we do, based on outward appearances, but most of the time only the person and the Lord know.

But the Bible also says, and this is the verse that led me to Jesus Christ… “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved.”

David Hall believed in his heart and his life was revolutionized. It’s a good way to approach a conversation.