A PAST TIME OF PRETENSE

I think we all have our moments of denial. Which is in reality a process of lying to ourselves.

Isn't it wonderful how many excuses we can make for why we fail at something or don't keep some promise? Lying to others might keep us from having our false image exposed for its truth. However, lying to ourselves some times really takes effort since we do know the truth, even if we don't admit it.

That is all the idiocy of human nature and behavior. Our inner need to enslave ourselves to something that isn't true all for the sake of avoiding guilt or losing face in the eyes of those who we wish to impress.

There is a difference though between that kind of deception and stupidly thinking God is somehow influence by this type of show. I'm not sure what seduces us into that kind of thinking. Perhaps it is the lure of religiosity or the simple inspirational adornment of a house of worship, but in no way can we ever supplant our lives with enough lies or justification for our sin to ever please the lord.

Still, you see it all the time. I too have been a victim of such a process at times. You get so caught up in the process and moment in terms of some spiritual duty that it lulls you into some sense of self-righteousness.

It is so easy when serving the Lord to make lateral comparisons to others who don't even believe and are therefore not among the redeemed. They don't even attempt to please God in any way or acknowledge his sovereignty. Jesus is not their Lord and Savior and they may not even believe he was real.

So I can appreciate how such people have no motivation to necessarily worry about sin or their behavior, although some people do have their own sense of morals. But the thing is, for the person following Christ there will always be that subtle thought that somehow serving God makes you a better person.

Which is in reality not true. Perhaps we don't so some of the same wrong things, but we are still sinners. And nothing we do will ever remove the need to be forgiven or covered by the blood of the lamb.

In times when I fall into that chasm of delusion the Lord lovingly taps me on the shoulder and makes me remember my need for forgiveness. He manages to catch me before I drift too far and remind of all the sins I have committed that keep me from having a right to think myself better than anyone else.

I'm grateful for such taps on the shoulder. They do help to keep me from the distraction of pride that truly kills the holy spirit's influence on one's soul. It brings a smile at times I suppose, but others a sadness that I even need those reminders. It is all part of being human and the miracle of grace.