No Facade needed

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO FAÇADE NEEDED

Prov 20:17

17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

NIV

Surely this has to do with the businessmen who conduct unsavory means to make a profit. Yet why would this be here if there was not a lesson for the normal run of the mill believer in Christ? Anything done by fraud tastes sweet at first, but that fraud leaves the soul of a person hungry. There is never a reason to deceive someone in order to make ourselves look good. This seems to be at the root of this saying. Is it inherent that everyone wants to look good in the eyes of others? Who would say to themselves they do not care how others see them? Do we put on a façade so as to look better than we are? Is that not a reputation gained by fraud, which at first, tastes good? Although we should be concerned as to how we are seen by others, it would not be good to present a false front. We need to be who we are. There is the rub, who are we? A pastor we knew years ago had said, “Our personality is who we are when we are with people, and our character is who we are when we are alone”. Should we not be the same all the time? Why would we be anything but the character we are? Should not our character be that of Christ? Then should not our personality also be as Christ?  Yet do we put on the façade of being someone else in order to be accepted by the world? That is we do not include Jesus in our conversations with unbelievers. We talk about the weather, sports, cars, or movie stars. Perhaps we try to avoid money, politics and religion because there are too controversial and in doing so make people feel uneasy and then tend to avoid us. Yet should we not be who we are? We are born again, Spirit filled, bible toten followers of Jesus Christ. How can we be anything else in order to be a sweet taste in the mouth of God? He has told us he would rather we be hot or cold then lukewarm. Lukewarm he spits out of his mouth. If we are trying to gain food, get ahead in life, be successful, because we are doing so under false presences in any way it will end up be gravel. If we are not getting ahead and it is because of our faith, then we count it as all joy, for it is because we are who we are. Yet being who we are should make us more desirable to others. The God of love should be seen in us at all times. That does not mean we cannot laugh and enjoy fun, but being truthful about our relationship with our Lord should our personality as well as our character. No façade needed.