the honest believer

You wouldn’t think that the subject of honesty need be addressed among Christians.  Some believers have a strong desire to be seen in a vivid spiritual presentation.  They want everyone to know that they walk very close to God and He speaks to them all the day long.  I believe God speaks to His people but not to the degree they claim He does.  They think that if they can project themselves at a high spiritual level they will have the respect of their fellow servants.
 
Galatians 6:3 If a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
 
What these folks don’t understand is that deceived people are easily identified.  Anyone can talk a good game but if they don’t have the fruit they become the “fruit”.  An honest believer may not have much fruit, but if they lay claim only to what they have, they have honor with the brethren.  It’s like the boy who cried wolf, after a time no one believed him.  People who deceive themselves live alone in their own little world, no one accepts their testimony.
 
1 Peter 2:12 Have your lifestyle honest among the gentiles: that when they call you an evildoer, they may by your good works shall glorify God in the day of their visitation.
 
Evidently the world is watching the Christians and evaluating our conduct.  Are we representing Christ or are we trying to impress people with our spirituality?  If the gentiles can identify a phony, how much more the enlightened.  Jesus said we would be known by our fruit, well even the heathen understand that principle.
 
James 3:5 The tongue is a small member but boasts of great things.
 
There’s an old cliché, our tongue writes checks our body can’t cash.  Our mouth gets us into more trouble then we can sometimes manage.  As children of God we need to practice integrity, speak only what you know to be true.  And don’t exaggerate because exaggerating is the same as lying, if you say you’re going to do something, then do it.  Anybody can distinguish between a con and an honest man, deception will always be exposed.
 
All men are triune beings, we are a spirit, we possess a soul and we live in a body.  So, we must give time to every part of our life, each part deserves a third.  If we try to be in the spirit 24/7 we will become imbalanced.  I heard a man of God say this, “A man can be so spiritual he is no earthly good”.  If you work a secular job, they hired your body and soul, not your spirit.  It is a major mistake to spiritualize everything among unspiritual people.
 
Romans 12:3 Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think; but think soberly according to your measure of faith.
 
We are only what God says we are, we have no business projecting ourselves beyond who we really are.  Just be yourself, you’re more than enough.

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