Veterans Day 2012 - the Pretender

Last Sunday in the “Dear Abby” column in the Columbus Dispatch, I came upon this letter: Dear Abby: I have a friend, “Dick,” who wears veteran hats — “Vietnam Vet,” “Proud To Be a Marine,” etc. — that imply he was in the service.

The problem is, Dick was never in any branch of the military. He claims that he is “honoring” veterans by wearing the hats. But when he goes into a restaurant or other place that offers military discounts, he always inquires about them. And he has never refused the offer of one or admitted that he was never actually in the service himself. I come in contact with real military service people who deserve to wear these hats. I asked a couple of them about what to do with Dick, but you can’t print their responses.

What’s your take?

— Values Honesty in Ohio

You can probably guess what Abby’s response was.

Dear Values Honesty: The fact that I can’t print the reaction of legitimate veterans to what Dick is doing indicates how offensive and wrong it is. It appears that your friend is a small-time, chiseling con man who takes advantage of people’s patriotism. Why you would call someone like this a “friend” is puzzling, because you seem to have a well-developed sense of right and wrong. A word of advice: Sooner or later, people like Dick are discovered. When that happens, it would be better if you weren’t around, because people are judged by the company they keep.

Have you ever met a pretender? Someone who pretends to be something they aren’t? A few years ago, the University of Notre Dame announced the hiring of George O’Leary as their new football coach, but only five days later, he resigned after admitting he had lied on his resume. Why would someone do this? Because we’re in a society in which pretending is OK. Isn’t that the big draw of Halloween? I mean, besides the candy? Dressing up and pretending you’re someone who you aren’t… If you don’t believe this is the case, dress up a bunch of little boys like super heroes or soldiers and see which ones start to play fight. Or dress an adult up in a scary costume and watch him terrorize little children on the street. Or listen to me do my Darth Vader impression one more time.

Sadly, some people even believe that pretending is fine in the realm of Christianity. “Fake it ‘til you make it” isn’t a new philosophy – if you’re in a situation where you lack confidence, you pretend you’re confident, and confidence will follow. It’s somewhat related to Aristotle’s notion that acting virtuous will make you virtuous. While wearing confidence like a jacket is a positive thing in social settings, acting virtuous will not always make you virtuous, and following all of the Christian rules will not make you a Christian, because, as we learned last week, following rules will never produce love in your heart.

Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Jesus couldn’t be clearer here. A good tree bears good fruit. But what kind of good fruit is Jesus talking about? Is he talking about good behavior? Church attendance? Dressing up for Sunday morning? Doing nice things for people in the community? Getting along with other people?

Listen to what kind of fruit the Bible tells us we should be bearing: In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul says: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Be aware that the word “fruit” here is singular. It is not plural. In other words, these nine characteristics are not nine separate fruits. We can’t pick and choose. We can’t be a faithfulness tree and have no self-control. We can’t have joy and peace and skip the patience and kindness. They all go together to make one fruit. This is what we are to bear. This is what we’re supposed to look like.

Any of us can try harder to exhibit these attributes, but that’s like taking an apple and stapling it onto a branch of your oak tree, and it’s going to look good for a while, but the fact is, apples do not grow on oak trees, and soon the apple will rot, right on the tree. In other words, you can pretend for a while, but that won’t make you what you aren’t. I can wear my dad’s Navy jacket as much as I want, but that does not make me a veteran. Likewise, I can wear good deeds, but they don’t make me a Christian. In fact, I can do all kinds of so-called “Christian” things but they don’t make me a Christian. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I know people who think, “because I go to church almost every week” or “because I taught Sunday School for years” or “because I worked in the ministry to the poor” or something else, then they’ve paid their way to heaven. Jesus says that there are some who prophesied in His Name or drove out demons in His Name or even performed miracles in His Name who He doesn’t even know. It’s not about what you’ve done, it’s about who you know.

So, how do you truly bear good fruit?

In John 15:5-6, Jesus tells his followers: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown in the fire and burned.”

Do you want to bear good fruit? Abide in Jesus. Apart from him, you can do nothing. It doesn’t get more clear than this. There is no room for pretending in Christ. Listen to Psalm 139:1: O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. And in Jeremiah 12:3, we read, Yet you know me, O Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. God knows us better than we know ourselves.

So today, I invite you to allow God to search your heart. Where do you stand with him? Have you been pretending, wearing the hats, uniforms, or medals of the Christian, yet without the transformed heart that allows you to bear fruit? Do you know Jesus, or just know about Jesus? The truth is, there is nothing we can do to wipe away the stain of sin in our lives; but Jesus has already done everything that it takes. In his death and resurrection, he took our sin upon himself so we can be free. In the Holy Spirit, we are given the opportunity to bear fruit, as Jesus calls us to. Which path will you take?