We have all done things “just for show”. I can only speak directly about my own decisions so let me own up.
Have I smiled and said things in a positive, sweet way when everything inside my head and body screamed obscenities? Yes.
Has there ever been an occasion when I had gone through the motions so that others would not know my true feelings? Yes.
Do I continue to put on a “performance” when I am trying to get to a destination? Yes.
I do not know what my opinion is when it comes to how we act in relationship to each other. It is hard to make things black and white when one tries to strike the balance during the war with my out-of-control self wanting to say to say one thing contrasting with the words that I know express my highest values and priorities. Judgment versus mercy and acceptance are battles waged each day.
I do know that the equation is radically different when it comes to your and my relationship with the Divine. I wonder if we really believe that we can deceive God. I am not sure I hold that belief intellectually, I am sure that my actions suggest that I think it is a reasonable possibility.
God is blunt in his view. “Religious performance by the wicked stinks; it’s even worse when they use it to get ahead.” (Proverbs 21.27)
Some believe that this only happens in select situations like going to church. I believe that God statement applies to a much broader panorama. Does my relationship with my wife and daughters end when I leave the house? Is the fact that I am apart temporarily from someone or something mean that I have the ability to act totally independently? Could the relationship I have with my self, the values and priorities that I tell my self through actions, decisions, and choices, ultimately shape the relationships I have with everything and everyone around me?
Remember, in the end each wants their true colors to show regardless of the consequences.
