Perhaps right from the beginning the enemy of action has been words. Making promises, and claims, and reaping the rewards before the actual work is ever done. Using one’s reputation as collateral for immediate gratification. Jesus warned us about the babbling pagans in Matthew 6. Did we listen?

It seems in a lot of life’s arenas talk gets most of the attention. Saying we’re going to do something results in rousing applause, pats on the back, big smiles, and “isn’t she a great person” thoughts. Then when the time comes to make good on those words. Well, how often is anyone really looking?

I met a guy a few years ago that admitted that he had opted for bankruptcy. It just made more sense for him to kill his credit score since really the loan agents didn’t care that much about credit scores anyway. A low credit score was an excuse to charge a bit of extra interest but in light of all this man owed it was worth the trade. Now we all know how that practice turned out for banks.

So what is the credit reporting agency for people’s promises? Especially our larger-than-life all-star celebrity religious leaders. Who is checking their credibility? Well, everyone assumes someone must be… which is what many folks do with the email they forward too.

The church has created a talk:action credit bubble. It has become so inflated that the idea that anyone would actually check anyone else’s claims is seen as a lack of faith right from the beginning. Words have trumped action and left a disconnect that could (and likely will) lead our nation to spiritual bankruptcy. There are plenty of loan agents running all around grabbing all the loans and commissions they can while they can. I suggest you be wiser. Talk is CHEAP!

The ability to say words with confidence and presumption does not equate to faith. Multiplying poetic language does not equate to spiritual superiority. The ability to sing is not a window to a pure soul. Remember, lucifer probably sang pretty well. The church should not be led by hearers or speakers of the word, but firstly doers. (Matthew 7, James 1:22). Therefore an audit is in order. Everyone who has read this, take an audit of all of the ambitious claims you’ve heard and note the people who actually made good on them. Consider yourself, do you say what you know people want to hear, or do you speak the truth in all circumstances. I suggest you will not likely be very popular if you are the latter. In fact the Bible warns of this in 2 Timothy 4:

” 1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

If you do decide to perform this audit, it should be done as privately as you would manage your own finances. If you recognize inpropriety you should quietly take your investment elsewhere. Psalm 37:7.

Question #1 on Wesley’s Holy Club self examination quiz is: “Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?”

This version of the word hypocrite is a bit more developed than what I am accustomed to. My version is simply a person who says one thing and does another. This version seems to include anyone who tries to maintain any impression other than reality. Even if by accident?

It seems a common practice if not human nature to try to maintain some appearance. Just ask the latest trend’s fashion designers. It comes in many different forms, and clothes is only the beginning. If I speak King James English then I sound like I read my Bible a lot. If I recently read a scripture and can tie it to my current conversation then maybe I’ll sound like I study my Bible a l lot. If I can quote some other person or a statistic then I’m more credible. If I bleach my teeth I appear more healthy. If my Facebook status says I’m away bench pressing I must be doing that, right then… wow, I’m a strong guy.

Spoken communication is one thing, but writing exacerbates this problem. It is so easy to exaggerate, and it can be done in writing without purposefully deceiving at all. In fact, as John Wesley’s question clarifies, doing it on purpose is not all it takes to make a mistake.

We have to be very careful how we word our reports home. Unfortunately, the only solution I have found that works is when in doubt, just don’t say it. I’d love to let my friends know about some of the things it seems God is doing with us, when I’m so uncertain what it means, which is usually the case, how can I relay it to others? We get to do a lot of neat things here, but some of them are just too neat to describe without appearing to brag and likely unconsciously creating a facade. I guess every update could be summed up as, we’re normal people, living a normal life, which includes an amazing God!

So, why the title? Well, I mention a good rule only to break it. Please stop it! “Christianese” is one of the verbal/written fashions of the hypocritical facade world. I know many sweet godly people, old and young alike, that speak fluent Christianese daily. I would say, they are not fools, but they may well be unconsciously creating a facade. Maybe the fact that I’m not actually criticising the foolish means I didn’t break the rule. Please be alert! Trading a genuine, sincere, and perhaps boring reality for a superficial appearance could cost more than you’d imagine. A person’s vocabulary has very little to do with their ability, unless we’re referring to merely their ability to talk.

Back to the title. I suppose I should have included a disclaimer right from the start. There is no point discussing this topic with someone who spends their effort bearing an illusion instead of fruit. Unless, of course, you’d also stand between a mama grizzly and her cub. So this is intended for those who would recognize the foolishness of those, both the facade thing and the grizzly thing.