"Remember the Scripture that says, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it
legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights'? Too many of you are
using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just
because you are 'legal.' Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife,
you're responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made
herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced
adulteress, you're automatically an adulterer yourself. You can't use legal
cover to mask a moral failure." (Matt 5:31-32, NIV2)
Pretense is everywhere. In Japan, for example, you can hire someone to be your
friend or your mother. This doesn't really make them a friend or a mom. It's all
pretense!
This becomes far worse when our pretense is based on selfishness. We may pretend
to be a friend of God, but that doesn't mean we are one: "By their fruit you
will recognize them." (Matt 7:16a, NIV2)
Let us not be deceived. Being within the bounds of the law doesn't mean
anything. I have met many outgoing leaders who seem so friendly, but whose
employees despise them. Pretense can be completely bogus.
All of us need to spend time in self-reflection. We need prayer to find any
false pretenses that are lurking in our lives. Only One never ever pretended to
be someone else, and He is the One I want to follow at all cost: Jesus the
Christ.
We are not here to fulfill our own desires. We are here to shine, love and care
for everyone we encounter, just like Jesus did. Does selfish divorce fit that
bill?
In 1828, many people were enrolled to help build a canal around one of the
falls in Bolivia. Three boats were hired to transport the workers. The second
boat to leave from Pennsylvania was not what it pretended to be: The Metropolis.
No one knew that this ship was the former Stars and Stripes, who had experienced
lots of warfare from New York to Cuba. It was listed to have been built nine
years after its involvement in the combat of Roanoke Island. The ship was too
old, too unreliable and too poorly powered to carry this massive workforce. No
one even knew that it had been turned down as a coastal freight hauler. Still,
it left with all its priceless cargo of human lives.
Shortly after its departure, the Metropolis, or should I say the Stars and
Stripes', engines were laboring heavily. The First engineer soon discovered a
leak near the rudder post, and before anyone knew it, water rose to waist deep.
They had no choice but to engage all passengers with the task of throwing the
cargo overboard. This job lasted until well past midnight, and everyone was dead
tired.
Unfortunately, even after throwing more than 50 tons of cargo overboard, the
water still rose and the engines had more and more trouble. Sadly, the captain
did not want to go to Hampton Roads for repairs, for it would mean a small
detour.
The fatal blow came when a huge wave washed over the ship. The smokestacks, most
of the lifeboats, the steam whistle, the engine room ventilators, and many other
important parts of the boat were washed overboard. What was worse, however, is
that the wave completely drowned the engine fires, leaving the boat without
power.
As the boat was not too far from the North Carolina coast, the first mate and
two others jumped into the ocean and swam ashore. Had everyone followed their
example, they would have all been saved, as the tide was low.
Meanwhile, the coastguard from Station Number four came for the rescue.
Unfortunately their equipment weighed over 1000 pounds, and they had miles to go
on a beach littered with debris. Eventually they became so tired that it took
too much time to come to the aid of the passengers. Around noon, they were
finally close enough to fire a line aboard the wreck. However, no one on board
knew how to secure the line!
The quartermaster decided to swim with a line to the beach. He was courageous,
but the water was too tumultuous, and he sank.
The mainmasts fell next, and the ship started to break into pieces. Everyone had
no choice but to swim. Some were driven farther and farther away from the beach
due to the currants. Only some made it to shore.
85 people died that day, all because the boat pretended to be better than it
was. Pretense is truly deadly!
Only three people called themselves lucky. These three had decided not to go on
that boat at the very last moment:The foreman who decided he couldn't leave his
wife alone; The engineer, whose luggage had not arrived on time; and Thomas
Collins, the one who had hired the boat in the first place, who decide to take
the next boat with his wife, as there were way too many passengers on board this
one.
Would you like to go on a boat like this? It may be the adventure of a lifetime!
P. S. I hope you can swim well! As for me, I have decided to stay ashore. Forget
pretense!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.