Halloween is now over. It is time for Christians to take off their costumes. I’m convinced that with most of Christendom, that is mainly what Christianity is—a costume. Often, many Christians dress up in their costumes for Sunday mornings, and as soon as they get home, they take off their costumes and won’t give them another thought until the next Sunday. They are not real Christians, they are only pretending, much like my son was pretending to be Woody this past year, and imitating a pumpkin the year before. Those costumes are not who he really is, nor are most who claim to be Christians really Christians. Most of us are worldly folks in disguise on Sundays—trying to have the best of both worlds. We want the blessings that come with being in Christ, but at the same time, we absolutely refuse to give up our worldly pleasures. This cannot be. As Christians, we have died to the world, and the world to us (Galatians 6:14). When will we understand that there is no such thing as “having the best of both worlds”? James makes it abundantly clear that this is impossible. He warns, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (4:4).
[Editor’s Note: Frequently, even the most respected brothers and sisters in Christ reflect more of the material prosperity of the western world and many of the vices it affords than do they project a 24-7 genuine Christianity that comes forth from the universal Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians need to get real (Matthew 16:24-26; John 6:27), understand and embrace what really matters for life and eternity (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:10-11), and order their lives accordingly (Matthew 6:33). Any other conduct is fruitless and eternally hopeless. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
