Skip to main content

The Great Pretender




I wanna live like I pretend to
I wanna put an end to
The duality
That lives in me
I want there to be
No enmity
Between God and me
Or ‘tween me and God
See this straight and narrow path I trod
(Or, better said, plod
And move with reluctant feet
Less often forward than in retreat)
This path requires my all
No sacrifice considered too small
In light of the ultimate sacrifice made
My all on the altar should be laid.
But,
Guess what.
Quite frankly, it’s not.
I just seem to be
What I’m not, you see.
Oh yes, I am the Great Pretender
And constant defender
Of a life compromised
A mask of holiness I wear as my disguise.
And of the glory of God, I fall short
Not meditating on things of good report
Using the Almighty as a last resort
Abandoning His presence for worthless consort
And pretending
Not comprehending
The danger impending
Always intending
Better to do
But when you look at me you have no clue
Cause I know just how to raise both my hands
I know when to kneel and I know when to stand
I know how to shout and to sing all the songs
I know all the ways to conceal all my wrongs
I know the Holy Ghost dance; how to move my feet
Yet all of these actions are a bold-faced deceit.
And I just wanna live the way that  I pretend
Christ’s sacrifice to no longer offend
The snares of this life finally transcend
Father, please help me as I intend
Better to do
I’ve just described me,
But could this be you, too?

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 17, 2012 at 11:02 PM

    Nothing like the truth...the fact that you were able to sit and write this shows boldness before God.... dont we get rewarded for the truth????

    ReplyDelete
  2. Josie JamesJuly 17, 2012 at 11:43 PM

    i think we get some points for the truth, but recognizing our faults is only half of the process...sigh

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ride or Die

I love this phrase. There are quite a few subtle variations on the meaning, but it is an urban colloquialism that means loyalty, no matter what. I thank God that I have been blessed with a few people that have that kind of loyalty to me and I to them. It's a rich blessing that have true friends. They are with me and in my corner no matter what (or "regardless of what" as one of them would say). This week we had Vacation Bible School at my church and I was privileged to be a teacher. The first lesson was taken from Daniel chapter three. The very well known story of the three Hebrew boys: Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego. It is a wonderful story of faith, but something jumped out at me so profoundly that it almost knocked me over. We always focus on the deliverance. But the Hebrew boys did not. Their focus was on God and Him alone. They were ride or die for the Lord. Literally. If you read the story, they never once pray for deliverance. They talk about God's a...
2 comments
Read more

Rocks, Gravel, Sand and Water

Let me first start by saying that I cannot take credit for the following example, as I did not originate it. In fact, I was listening to Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah and I was so touched by what he shared that I thought I would share it with all of you. Let's say I have a large, empty 5-gallon jar. If I place fist sized rocks into the jar until no more can fit, is it full? Before you answer, let me say that after I place the rocks in the jar, I pick up a bag of gravel and begin to pour that into the jar. Where does the gravel go? In between the spaces left by the rocks. After I fill the jar to the brim with gravel, is it full? Before you answer, consider this: I pour a bag of sand into the jar. Where does the sand go? Into the spaces left by the gravel, of course. After filling the jar to the brim with sand, is it full? Before you answer, consider this: I pour a pitcher of water into the same jar. Where does the water go? Into the spaces between the grains of sa...
2 comments
Read more

Was That Supposed To Be For Me?

An organisation to which I belong used to do a gift exchange for Christmas. Each member would have a few weeks to purchase something for the person whose name was randomly selected from a hat (or bag, whichever was closest). If I am not mistaken, we did this gift exchange for about four years before abandoning the idea. Not one year went by without there being some fuss because inevitably at least one person would get a gift that in no way compared to the one s/he purchased. The leader of my organisation went as far as to impose a monetary maximum AND minimum on the value of the gift, all in an effort to avoid the hurt feelings at the time of the exchange.  Not even that worked. The night always ended with some bickering and complaining. "Look at this cheap thing that I got!" or "Do you know how much time I spent looking for the perfect gift for my person and this is all I get?!" or "Was this supposed to be for me?" People's feelings were hurt a...
Post a Comment
Read more