Am I a “poser?”
Aug 23 2022 - Eric Buresh
A few weekends ago, I was a poser. A good friend of mine invited me and another good friend to go to his fishing cabin for a weekend of trout fishing and relaxation. I’m not a trout fisherman. I don’t have any gear and the waders I had were from a different generation. No big deal. I figured I’d just futz around for the fishing time and enjoy the rest of the trip with great food and great fellowship around a relaxing campfire. Friday morning comes and we head out to the little river. Upon arrival, I realize I have a problem. There are real trout fisherman all over this river, standing just feet apart. It was the real deal. And here I come with my waders from somewhere in the timeframe of World War I. After a few errant casts, I snag my line and break off my lure. As I’m trying to re-tie based on the last memory of a knot I had from a decade ago, I realized I had a major leak in my waders. My entire left leg fills with water and now I can hardly move in the river. Totally awesome! At that moment, standing in the river with fly fishermen to my left and right, trying to remember how to tie my line, anchored with a leg full of freezing water, I was pretty sure everyone knew I was a poser. I was happy to be a poser in that instance, though, as my friends really did enjoy the adventure and I wanted to participate with them.
We’ve all witnessed posers in the Church countless times. Of course, we can be unforgivingly and ungraciously quick to identify another person as a poser. That could be the topic of a whole different post. The question I’m really asking here and inviting you to ask is “Am I a poser?” This is a question we should be asking ourselves as a regular practice of healthy spiritual self-examination. In my heart, at the level of my emotions, am I a poser? Is the primary driving force in my life the love/worship of myself and my way or is the primary driving force in my life the love/worship of Jesus Christ and His way? In which direction does my heart most incline right now? Just like the Pharisees of the Gospels, we all know how to put on a show with outward demonstrations, actions, and words. But are we perhaps unknowingly confusing our outward show with our true heart affections and thus deceiving ourselves? Are we in a rut with Jesus emotionally and simply use the external show to continue fitting in to (or drawing praise from) our community?
In Mark 7, Jesus encountered a group of Pharisees who really knew how to put on a show. They had all kinds of external demonstrations of religious traditions taught by men. They washed their hands and cups and plates and many other similar actions. When they confronted Jesus, asking why He and the disciples did not follow these traditions, Jesus cut right to the chase in verse 6 (quoting the words of the Lord as relayed through Isaiah):
This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
Does this describe you in any area of your heart? Are you putting on a show with your outward actions when your heart is someplace completely different? If so, the solution is simple: confess your heart’s attitude to our Savior. He faithfully and justly forgives our wandering hearts repeatedly in a never-ending stream of grace and mercy. Pray in the power of the Spirit that He may restore unto you the joy of your salvation, that He may renew your affections for Him, that He may incline your heart to seek Him. He will surely do it!
As we are examining our own hearts, Jesus teaches that we will recognize the truth of our heart’s inclinations by the fruit that comes out from our heart. (vs. 17-23). A heart whose primary driving force is the love/worship of Jesus will predominantly produce the genuine fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23. A heart whose primary driving force is the love/worship of self will predominantly produce “evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” (vs. 21-22).
This is a tough list, but when we are honest with ourselves, we must admit these are the types of fruit that start to come out of us when we’ve wandered from our love for Christ. These evil fruits may not have manifested in physical actions (yet), but they certainly manifest in the mental realm of our heart, mind, and imagination. Don’t let your wandering heart fester and grow further away. As James describes the festering cycle, “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15. Halt this slide by asking, as David did, “Search my heart, God. See if there be any wicked way in me.” Psalm 139:23-24. When the Holy Spirit prompts you with some area where you are wandering from a primary love for Jesus, genuinely confess that wandering and ask Him to renew your love for Him. For your own sake and, even more, for the glory of our Savior, don’t go on in your wandering. Don’t be a poser.