2 of 2

When I counsel with someone and she or he tells me how great a listener I am and how much I have helped, it feels good. When I teach and I am praised for my insight or delivery, it feels good. When I visit the sick and they express their appreciation, it feels good. Doing good is not often as rewarding to me as looking or feeling good. I can do some really good things for some really lousy reasons. Feeling needed, respected, wanted, and significant can become as great a motivation as love for Christ.

A. W. Tozer once wrote, "Many a solo is sung to show off; many a sermon is preached as an exhibition of talent; many a church is founded as a slap to some other church. Even missionary activity may become competitive, and soul winning may degenerate into [something] to satisfy the flesh."

We're all fakes. Oh, we're not all fakes all the time. In fact we can spend a good deal of our time truly and genuinely serving. But most of us would admit that the spiritual image others have of us isn't always accurate. It is a fearful thing to let others in on the dark secret.

I don't want to suggest that we never truly serve Christ. More to the point, we begin to serve ourselves just a little more than we serve Him. And over and over again the story of Ananias and Sapphira is played out—in the church and in us.

In Acts 5 we read the story of this couple in the early church who, on seeing the generosity of other believers who gave up land and possessions to be sold to give to the poor, decided that was a great idea—in principle. What they were really attracted to was the increased spiritual standing that each of these people who so unselfishly gave received.

Ananias and Sapphira are the original church fakers. They decided to sell a piece of land they owned, but secretly gave only half the proceeds. They wanted a spiritual reputation, but they didn't want to pay retail. This deception, revealed by the Holy Spirit, was dealt with severely. Fortunately, their secret defection now serves as a warning to us.

We are taught to loathe their example, but I'm afraid we've often copied it. There is a great deal more of Ananias and Sapphira in me than I care to admit. The answer to this dilemma does not lie in removing ourselves from our ministries or positions, or our churches. Church is the ideal haven for fakes and sinners of all kinds. We simply need to be willing to admit we've been faking it. I have found that the Holy Spirit can very effectively reveal my less-than-noble motivations upon request. I have also begun to discover the much more fulfilling ministry of genuine service.

We need to ask God to begin to reveal to us improper motivations for service and spiritual reputations we do not deserve. This is at first depressing. But it is also freeing, as the truth always is.

Faking church will always be tempting, but when we admit the truth, it becomes a temptation we can resist.

Adapted from Moody (July/Aug. 2003), © Dan Schaeffer. Used by permission. Schaeffer is co-pastor of Shoreline Community Church in Santa Barbara. He expands on this theme in his book Faking Church (Barbour).

More Bible Study Helps
The Meaning of Church Words Christian Living Bible Study How many of the common church words could you define? Some words we hear only occasionally, and others like amen, we use all the time. This study reminds us where some of these words came from and what purpose they serve in our religious lingo. Read more.	Heart Check Test your spiritual vital signs. by Nancy Beach A frequently heard advertisement on Chicago radio stations is for Heart Check America. The ad is a testimony: "I am a businessman in my mid forties. I eat well and exercise five times a week. Read more.

first page |  2 of 2