let's pretend

C.S. Lewis's writings are a treasure to me...

" 'Our Father,' do you now see what those words mean? They mean quite frankly that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending.

Because, of course, the moment you realize what the words mean, you realize that you are not a son of God. You are not being like the Son of God whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father. You are a bundle of self-centered fears, hoped, greeds, jealousies, and self conceit, all doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.

Why? What is the good of pretending to be what you are not? Well, even on the human level you know there are two types of pretending. There is a bad kind where the pretense is there instead of the real thing. But there is also a good kind, where the pretense leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you already had it. That is why children's games are so important. They are always pretending to be grown ups, but all the time, they are hardening their muscles and sharpening their wits so that the pretense of being grown up helps them to grow up in earnest.

... You no longer think simply about right and wrong; you are trying to catch the good infection from a Person. It is more like painting a portrait than like obeying a set of rules. And the odd thing is that while in one way it is much harder than keeping rules, in another way it is far easier.

The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself... He works on us in all sorts of ways, not only through what we think our 'religious life.' But above all, He works on us though each other. Men are like mirrors, or carriers, of Christ to other men.

And now we begin to see what the New Testament is always talking about. They mean that a real Person, here and now, is doing things to you. It is a living Man still as much a man as you and still as much God as He was when he created the world, really coming and interfering with your very self. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing, into a new little Christ, a being which in its own small way has the same life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge, and eternity."

Mmmmm. I really love this! I have struggled with the word "hypocrite" in my life because of the anger and hatred that backs it. That word is usually not, dare I say, NEVER used with kindness or understanding. But this exert from Mere Christianity puts it in a new light for me. Admitting that I am a hypocrite in this way and with this analogy seems totally ok and even necessary to me. None of us are who we ought to be. Even by choosing to follow the example of Christ and live disciplined, intentional lives we still cannot, by our deeds and choices, become who we are supposed to be. We are playing dress up.

One of my favorite passages in the bible is Colossians 3 in The Message translation. Paul actually uses the dress up metaphor in describing how we are to put on the new wardrobe that God picked out for us: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. "And regardless of whatever else you put on, wear love. Never be without it."

So... maybe being a hypocrite isn't a terrible thing. Maybe it's a realistic (and biblical) view of who we are as simple people trying to keep in step with a very big and complex God. It's a freeing acceptance to me-- I am trying to be someone I'm not. When did that become such a bad thing?

& the Father says...

"Let Us treat her as if she was what, in fact, she is not. Let Us pretend in order to make the pretense into a reality."

behold,

a new creation.

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