How to look Godly (when you’re not that really)
Reblog from notwally: Talking at the Wall
If you’re smart and savvy, you can play along to the Christian subculture so that you seem more godly or Christian than you actually are. This comes out of a conversation I recently had with a friend, and something I think everyone needs to be aware of, including me.
Know a lot about the Bible (and show it): Knowing Scripture is really a double-edged sword. If applied wrongly, it can be twisted to our own destruction (2 Peter 3:16) and it can also create an illusion of godliness. Knowing more is not necessarily being more godly. Even probably Satan knows the Bible better than we do (Matthew 4:1-11).
The solution? We do not measure godliness by the amount of knowledge we have but by the faithfulness of its wise application.
Hide your sin (and Tell others to confess theirs): There’s nothing worse than knowing a Christian who actually sins, right? Weren’t they meant to stop sinning once they joined the fold? This should sound ridiculous, because it is.
We aren’t meant to put up a façade, especially with fellow Christians. Fellow Christians are meant to be the very ones with who we should be able to be honest with, and confess our struggles and support each other. You may seem more godly when you hide your sin, but it is there that you know your own taint to appear all the more dark.
(Lovingly) rebuking someone’s faults in front of others: Doesn’t it look godly, for an older Christian to rebuke a younger Christian who is in sin? Isn’t it a great form of ‘tough love’? If you have seen someone do this - my question is, why were you present to see this? As I read in Matthew 18:15-20, the very first principle when it comes to issues amongst Christians is to take them aside and speak to them in private.
Our goal isn’t to embarrass this person in public. We want to correct them and help them grow in godliness. Who knows? They may actually have a very real, legitimate and godly reason for their actions. And don’t assume this action to be indicative of the entirety of their state of Christian living. The leader who secretly struggles with pornography is much less likely to be discovered and judged than the Christian who is control of his lusts but jokes inappropriately from time to time.
Never hang out with non-Christians: Imagine what people would say if they saw you in the company of those who are evidently unbelievers?! Why not stay in that Christian cloistered bubble of safety - encouraging and talking about Christian things all the time. That is of course, to forget that Jesus went to the parties of tax collectors and sinners.
Am I saying that it is wrong or ungodly to only be amongst Christians? Not at all. All I’m saying is that you cannot measure godliness by the number of Christians that someone hangs around. Nor can you measure ungodliness by the number of unbelievers we keep as friends. I believe that godliness is moreso measured in the degree in which a Christian reflects Christ to both believer and unbeliever.
These were some of the thoughts I’ve had after talking with my friend. What do you think? Are there particular dangers we should avoid, so that we don’t appear more godly than we actually are?
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