Click here to listen to the radio version.
Click here to search the AOG archives.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for June 10, 2010
“The Masquerade”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Masquerade is a fun word.
It’s like a combination of mask and parade.
A masquerade is like a fun party where everyone dresses up and wears masks. It makes mingling more interesting because you don’t know who you are talking to.
Most people don’t like that, however, so there are few masquerades. We prefer to know exactly who we are talking to.
The word masquerade shows up in the Bible, in Second Corinthians 11. It talks about people who “masquerade as servants of righteousness.”
This is someone who wears the mask of a servant of God. They appear to be a real Christian – but it’s just a masquerade. They aren’t the real thing.
How can you tell the difference?
Here is one thing to look for. Are they pursuing personal righteousness?
If someone claims to be a Christian but tells crude jokes, it might be a masquerade.
If someone claims to be a Christian but makes racist comments, it might be a masquerade.
This week in Tallahassee a man of God was waiting for an elevator. Then he saw a woman he found quite attractive. She got in the elevator ahead of him, and he realized that if he got in, they would be in there alone.
No big deal, right?
Well it was for this man. He said he stepped back and let her go alone.
Why?
Because, as a married man, he didn’t want to be alone in that little box with a woman he found attractive.
You might think that’s a little over the top, but I think that’s a man who is pursuing personal righteousness.
These are things people do when they are pursuing personal righteousness. That helps you know their Christianity is not a masquerade.
Here’s another thing to look for. Follow the money.
Paul warned Timothy about people who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. Some people will masquerade as a servant of righteousness for the money.
If they are selfish and pour out the money on themselves, it might be a masquerade.
Another thing to look for is pride versus humility. A real servant of righteousness will be humble. The Bible warns against thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. Jesus said to take the last seat at the banquet.
If someone seems full of themselves, their Christianity might be a masquerade.
I say might be a masquerade because we have to leave room for immaturity.
I saw someone stumbling and staggering down the street yesterday.
“Oh, they were drunk,” you might say.
But I neglected to tell you they were only two years old.
So it’s possible that someone is a real Christian but missing the mark due to immaturity, not due to their faith being a masquerade.
But here’s the thing. If they are immature like that, they should not be in Christian leadership.
That’s what this issue is really about. Christian leaders who are masquerading as servants of righteousness.
A Christian leader should display more godliness than worldliness. What is their passion? What comes out of their mouth all the time?
A Christian leader will display more self-sacrifice than self-service. He will have a servant’s heart. He will be quick to serve you, and reluctant to being served.
The Bible warns us to be on the lookout for leaders like this, but we also need to take a close look at our own life. I must ask, “What kind of Christian am I?”
I need to look at myself. Do I keep my language clean? Am I generous? Am I humble? Am I pursuing personal righteousness?
We need to ask these questions of our leaders, and we need to ask them of ourselves, because we don’t want to be found guilty of what Paul wrote about in Second Corinthians 11.
We don’t want to be one of those people who “masquerade as servants of righteousness.”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment