The place where hypocrites hide - Double Life

Character series Part 1

Does reputation guarantee Character?

At the conclusion of the Furaha sports fellowship on the 10th Feb 07, members briefly examined the pattern for Christian living, a genuine Christian Character (of Love). It was discussed every walk in life has its hypocrites; Athletes (sports men and women) use drugs, bankers steal money, lawyers fabricate evidence, politicians accept bribes, doctors peddle narcotics, and parents abuse their children. Human nature, being what it is, guarantees that we will find masqueraders in courtrooms, clinics, university lecture halls, federal offices, and even in homes that appear to be nor­mal and happy. However, Christians who live double lives bring disgrace on them-selves, their loved ones, and the gospel.

As youth, we may have talent, rep­utation, and personality, get training and experience, but if we don't allow God to build a genuine Christian Character in us we don't have anything, for the great purpose of life is the shaping of character by the truth in God’s word and by His Holy Spirit. [1 Pt2: 5-11], but you like living stones are being built into a spiritual house…. “See, I lay a stone in Zion a chosen and precious cornerstone…” It is not great talents God blesses.

Character is what Jesus described in the Beatitudes and dem­onstrated in his own life. Charac­ter is made up of those beautiful qualities that Paul called the “fruit of the Spirit” in [Galatians 5:22–23]. Abraham Lincoln said that character was like a tree and reputation like the shadow of the tree. “The shadow is what we think of it,” said Lincoln. “The tree is the real thing.” Reputa­tion is what people think we are; character is what God and the holy angels know we are. Evangelist D. L. Moody once said that character was “what a man is in the dark”.

Character is Joseph saying “no” to Potiphar's wife and going to prison for being honest and chaste. It's Moses giving up the privileges of an Egyptian prince for the perils and problems of a Jewish prophet. . It’s Jeremiah devot­ing his lifetime to faithfully pleading with his people, and see­ing the nation die before his very eyes. It’s Paul saying, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” [Acts 23:1]. It's Hugh Lattimer and Nicholas Ridley burned at the stake, saying “we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as shall never be put out.”

But character reveals itself in the hidden things of everyday life as well as the dramatic things like; telling the truth when a lie would help you escape trouble, taking the blame when somebody else deserves it, not cutting corners on a job that nobody will inspect, or making unneces­sary sacrifices to help people who won't appreciate what you do anyway. Character means living your life before God, fear­ing only him and seeking to please him alone, no matter how you feel or what others may say and do.

Is there any Excuse for Sin?

Character is built a day at a time, a stone at a time, with patience and deliberation, all the while seeking to follow God's step-by-step plan. The deterioration of character is also an “inside job.” We drift from God and fall into sin, and then we try to avoid responsi­bility by blaming others or pleading extenuating circum­stances; but the charges won't stand up in God's court. The sim­ple fact is that character erodes because people fail to heed [Prov 4:23], “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life”. Life is built on character, and character is built on the deci­sions we make. The daily decisions of life, small and great, cement each stone into the building of character.

In defiance of his parents' wishes and God's law, Samson decided to marry a Philistine woman; little realizing his decision was the first step toward a Philistine dungeon. David decided to leave the battlefield and rest at home; and in laying aside his armor, he discovered he couldn't stand against the wiles of the devil or the desires of his own body. On the other hand, people like Joseph and Joshua, Ruth and Esther, and Peter and John decided to trust God and take their stand with God's people, and they were used of God to accomplish exploits.

The erosion of character usually begins with neglect: we stop reading the Word, or worshiping with God's people, or taking time to meditate and pray. We stop giving and start asking, "What will I get out of it?" We stop hungering for holi­ness and exercising spiritual discipline and discernment. We stop making those sacrifices that show our special love for Christ and his people. In time, we find ourselves "making arrangements to sin," convinced that what nobody knows, we can get away with. The process is deadly: first the drifting, then the secret sinning, then the hidden eroding of character that ultimately leads to the embarrassing public fall. As time goes on, we find it more convenient to sin (we don't have to be tempted; we tempt our‑selves) and easier to laugh it off. "It's not really serious," we say to ourselves, “and God understands and forgives.”

Along with an unprotected heart, a defiled conscience con-tributes to the decay of character. Circumstances become bor­ing or painful, so we stop enjoying the good people and the healthy experiences of real life and start looking for substitutes in a fantasy world of our own creation. In our imagination, where nobody can see it, we build our own secret world where we have the power and we enjoy the success. In this alternate world of the imagination, we satisfy unholy appetites that fam­ily and friends would be shocked to discover. We think we can enjoy these sins safely because all this corruption is hidden in our private picture gallery. We forget that every evil thought and imagination tears down character and eventually comes out in the open.

The tragedy

Sow a thought and you reap an action. Sow an action and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny. Most people really think they can enjoy a double life and get away with it, that there will be no harvest. In their hypocrisy, they fool others; in their duplicity, they fool themselves; but there's no way they can fool God and change his inexorable laws. “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” [Gal. 6:7]. The truth eventually comes out. “Then, when desire has con­ceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” [James 1:15]. The womb of the imagination gives birth to sin; and sin, being a murderer, grows up and starts to kill. Character dies, devotion dies, a happy home dies, a rep­utation dies, a ministry dies—and perhaps the youth dies too. What could have been a fruitful garden becomes a trash heap and then a graveyard.