The Pretender

  When others share their experience it affords me an opportunity to relate. This in turn causes deep reflection and perhaps change in my own life. 

  When a man pours out his life experience, I am most willing to learn from this man. The difficulty I have is when men won't do this. They clam up and seem to think that all has changed and thus became better. They seemingly think that time has changed events. I can't relate.

  I can relate to a man who has walked through the tough issues, then shares what had happened. I imagine a warrior who has fought an epic battle. Not an epic battle with an outside enemy, but rather his own flesh. One day he starts seeing some victory. Praise God.

  Years later you ask the guy what it was like. I don't know if its pride, ego, or brain disease, but the guy can't or won't recall the days he struggled. He comforts himself by working even harder for God thinking that the past will just fade away. He fools himself into thinking that perhaps he never struggled. Oh foolish man, how can you help another?

  Listen up pretender. You think God delivered you from yourself just so you can make believe you never failed. Who are you kidding here? Me or God?

  Come on men! Own you faults. Did you have a marriage that failed? Did you fail your marriage? You say, "Well she had a boyfriend". I am sure you were as pure as the wind driven snow. Your mind never commited adultery. Or maybe you had a girlfriend on the side. Nobody knows so you won't tell. Come on man!

  Please men, I beg you, stop white washing those sepulchers. When you share about how good you were while your family was being destroyed, I know you are being a liar and a hypocrite! You can offer me nothing. I can't learn from you how to serve God better when all you do is revise history. Do you really feel better trying to fool me? Pretender.

  Ok, relax here Josh. Gotta calm down a bit. I am sorry dear reader if the wording gets a bit severe. I have been wounded by men who act as though they never failed. Imagine this, they even tell me to try and hide my own failures so I won't have problems! This is not Gods way.

  I am a horrible wretched sinner. My specific sins are so terrifying, I am really not able to talk about them in an open forum. Someday God may ask me to. He hasn't yet. Today I share my story with specific men around me. They have to know what I have done and what God is doing. Failure on my part to share the truth renders me useless for God.

  Think of King David. Many stories of his failures are in the bible. Murder, adultery, idolatry, lying, etc... they are all there. Yet God loved him. He was a dude after Gods own heart! Cool!

  So, how about it men. Can you put aside the paint brush, stop white washing history, and share about your own failures? You seem to do good at sharing about other mens failures. Try sharing yours.

  We must, as men, stop pretending that we always had it all together. Our wretched past is nothing to be ashamed of, if Christ has washed us clean in his blood. Allow God to use your past as an illustration that others can relate to. Or, we can go on pretending and hope our past won't haunt us. Chose wisely.