Just Pretending

There is a story told about a driver who put a note under the windshield wiper of a parked car. The note read, "I have just smashed into your car. The people who saw the accident are watching me. They think I'm writing down my name and address but I'm not."

As deceptive as that story is, it isn't nearly as bad as what we see in the book of Jeremiah. In Jer. 3, the people of Judah were described as willing to call God their Father and Friend while still doing all the evil they could (vss. 4,5).

Jer. 3:4,5, "Have you not just called to Me: 'My Father, my Friend from my youth, will You always be angry? Will Your wrath continue forever?' This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can."

These people needed so desperately to return to the Lord. Yet, they only pretended to do so; their hearts were far from Him.

Putting on a false front is a very old practice but it certain- ly hasn't gone out of fashion. I can't think of a greater problem to be concerned with than to see people not serving the Lord from the heart. If we don't follow Him form our heart, it is just pretending. If we don't serve and worship Him form the heart, we are just wasting our time.

It's so very easy to say, "Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He has died for our sins and deserves our worship and service." But do we remember our commitment to Him when no one is around to watch how we live? Do we remember it when we are tired and there are other things begging for our attention?

Jer. 3:10, "... Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense, declares the Lord." It wasn't real! It was only pretend!

We may say the right things about God when it's in our best interest to do so but what about our true relationship with the Lord? Can we come before Him without shame? Looking good in the eyes of others is not enough.

Let us strive to serve God from the heart. 1 Tim. 1:5, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

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