Living In a World of Make-Believe

There used to be a show on tv when I was younger called Great Pretenders. Teenagers would dance and lip sync to their favorite songs/artists, imitating them. They were great pretenders. Make-believe.

With each passing day as I look around me in this fallen world, I'm beginning to wonder how many of us are really just Great Pretenders.  It's hard to know what's real when we're seemingly living in a world of make-believe.

make-believe: imitating something real; pretend

When we were little girls, it was so fun to pretend. We would play dress-up, dream of being the princess in movies, have pretend weddings, play house, play school, etc. 

Unfortunately, the "fun" seems to continue. As a woman, I am almost convinced that social media is becoming the biggest arena for make-believe, and it gives Satan his strongest foothold against women. We post pictures, tweets,  and even blogs to share our world with others. We begin to compare every aspect of our lives with the picturesque, photo-shopped, spell-checked, and filtered posts we see on a screen. We size up our reality to the make-believe world around us, which of course will always fall short. Then, we leave the virtual world to enter the real world, and what do we do? We start comparing again. Sometimes, it's not even intentional.

Her hair. Her clothes. Her job. Her marriage. Her children. Her jewelry. Her confidence.
Was that a sincere gesture? A snarky smile? A hidden jab? Fake gratitude? 

Is it all REAL or simply MAKE-BELIEVE?

I'm just as guilty. As I went back to look at my own posts, here's what I found:

I posted: "Required reading for my next grad class ...can't complain. So refreshing to have a class that pushes me to grow spiritually."  Should Say: I struggle to set aside time for my devotions; I was proud of myself for doing so today that I just had to share.

I posted: "Exercise + a nice walk with the hubs on this beautiful day = wonderful day!" Should Say: Beautiful day. Loved getting to spend time outside having good talks with the hubs. I could've done without the walking part, but it was kind of romantic and I know I need the exercise. Then.... a bird poo'd on my head! Not cool.

  

As I reflected on the posts above, as well as many others, I also began to wonder what captions God would give to our life posts. As we carry our Bible to church with us, say a prayer at the table, or give of ourselves to serve others, I have to ask myself the same questions:

Is it sincere? 

Do these actions naturally overflow from my relationship with God? 

Or have we just gotten so used to being Great Pretenders?

I know that I truly love God, and I also know that I have many friends and family who love God. We are all doing our best, and I'm not saying we should be perfect. That's impossible until that glorious day when God completes us. I'm simply emphasizing: We've gotta get real with God.

After all, he's going to be pretty real with us when we stand before Him one day.

Maybe you've got it all figured out and this post doesn't apply to you, and maybe I'm just writing this directly to myself. Either way, I have to wonder whether God would caption these life snapshots of mine much differently than I do. Would he say "Well done" or something else, entirely.

Humbling thoughts.

I challenge myself and you to:

1. Be real with yourself. Take a true self-inventory. Continue to do the right and change the wrong. Don't beat yourself up about it, just deal with it.

2. Be real with God. Spend time with Him. Ask Him to reveal to you what areas of your life he is pleased with and where you are Greatly Pretending. It may even be with Him. Let's bring the beautiful, as well as the broken, pieces of our lives to Him. He's our Father. He can handle it. Remember: Even Jesus pleaded with Him.

3. Be real with others. Utilize the church as God intended to help build you up in times of weakness and support you in times of strengths. Don't fake it. Learn to rejoice with others, while also helping carry their burdens.  

(I learned this lesson the hard way, but thank goodness for these wonderful people below...
and many others...who genuinely help me see the beauty of real relationships.)

The Servants @ Heart Bible class at our spring retreat a few weeks ago.
If you are in the Huntsville area and want to find a group to get plugged into...well, come on!
We'd love to get to know you!!

A world of make-believe doesn't always have a happily ever after. A REAL life with Christ does!!

Things aren't always what they seem. Let's learn to see the beauty in every aspect of our REAL life, even in the crumbling, broken, quirky pieces. After all, some of the most beautiful stained glass images are made from a lot of broken pieces. 

Until next time...