Christian Living

PUTTING ON YOUR GAME FACE

by Charles (Chuck) Robey
03/14/16
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  “Do not take me away with the wicked And with workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their  neighbors, But evil is in their hearts.” (Psalm 28:3)

 Do you have a game face and do you use it?  Do you know what a game face is and how you can apply it to your everyday life  ?

Putting on that game face is essentially acting – acting out a role that may be different than how you actually feel, or what you actually are. This can be a very valuable tool of social misconception. I remember when I was a kid, my parents  would  often say something like, " now act appropriately” or “don’t act up”.  In other words,  we know you want to eat that whole jar of cookies, but you should only take one.  Yes, we all learn at an early age to act differently than how we may feel.

So how does this phrase make you a better Christian ? And how  does this phrase relate to Christian living ? Are we Christians just playing church on Sunday morning, by putting on our Christian game face, or is our Christian faith being carried over in our daily lives. A good example of the latter is found in the daily living of the first church mentioned in scripture  (Acts 2:41-47).

I have observed many a Christian dispositions, in my life time, most of which were obviously genuine in their faith and practice. Most had and lived their Christian testimony (Philippians 1:21). However, times seem to be changing, not necessary for the betterment of the Christian reputation. For example !

Recently, I had the privilege of attending the Sunday morning worship service  of a  larger main line denominational church located  in a nearby city. When it came time for the customary "meet and greet" segment of the service, the congregation milled around welcoming the attendees by offering a friendly hand shake of fellowship. The gentleman sitting directly in front of me, stood and reached over my  shoulder, in greeting the couple sitting behind me. Never once did he greet or speak to me, a visitor to his church.

Then, there is what I call " Wall-Mart  Salvation".  I can't count the number of times of recalling  fellow church members, who were so eager to be seen greeting all other fellow parishioners  in church,  only to have them  completely ignore me when meeting out in public. Why, on most occasions, they will completely go out of their way not to speak or be seen.  This demeanor almost gives rise to me returning the favor, were it not for Gods  "Golden Rule" (Matthew 7:12).

I realize living our faith 24/7  is easier said than done. Life, in the fast lane, can be hard, confusing, frustrating, and even depressing at times. It is easy showing our Christian faith when everything is going good. But, how do we live it, and show it, when  everything around us seems to be falling apart? Basically, our true Christian faith must start in our individual daily living (Galatians 6:14), then be carried over into out structured churches (Hebrews 10:24-25).

The "ole parson's" favorite saying, " I know about the sweet by-and-by, but what about the nasty now-and-now" ?

Yes, the number one component of Christian growth, aside from God's love (Zephaniah 3:17), is our faith. As Christians, we must learn to trust God, no matter the circumstances.  We must live, and pray every day, for God to  increase our faith. You see, without the proper faith, it is impossible to please God ((Hebrews 6:1). Are you living according to your surroundings, or are you trusting the unseen (Hebrews 11:1) ?

A good example of putting on  the true Christian  game face is the apostle Peter. As one of the favorite disciples, Peter once walked on water, healed the sick and even raised the dead. Impressive, would you not say.

And yet Peter was just a "regular guy".  A converted rough and tumble mid-eastern fisherman.  He not only knew what it meant to mess up, he messed up many times. Even to the point of denied his Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 14:66-72).  However,  despite his many failings,  after God's Holy Spirit took over his life at Pentecost (John 15:26-27) (Acts 2:4,38) , his life completely changed ( 2 Peter 1:3-11). Yes, Peter "put on his true Christian game face.

In these Satan controlled troubling times, in which we live (Ephesians 6:12), it is all important that we take a stand for Christ not only in a structured Christian atmosphere, but in our daily living (1 Cor 10:31). Our Christian testimony is needed today, more than ever before (Matthew 10:32). We must put on our true genuine Christian  game face, in all that we do (Psalm 71:5-16).  We must not let Satan's minions corrupt our testimony by us displaying  a fake Christian game face" (1 John 5:10), thus destroying our Christian testimony.

What do you think ?