“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
-Groucho Marx
Several years ago, famous athlete and movie star, O.J. Simpson, was court-ordered to surrender his Swiss-made Rolex watch to the family of Ron Goldman, the party that won a $33.5 million settlement against him in a wrongful death suit. The sale of the watch was to net about $22,000, which would be applied to the celebrity’s outstanding balance, one which remains extremely high due to Mr. Simpson’s financial insolvency. Shortly after the watch was seized by attorneys of the Goldman family, it was returned to Mr. Simpson when it was determined to be a knockoff made in China. The true value of the watch was appraised at approximately $100.
This story is just a metaphor for the phoniness that can be found in our pop culture. With predictable regularity, the tabloids spit out stories of the latest Hollywood idols whose lives are spiraling out of control. On the outside they appear to have it all – money, friends, talent, and success. But when we peel back the shiny veneer, we find many of them relationally, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupt.
Singer and songwriter Sara Groves poignantly captures this theme in her song, “I Just Showed Up for My Own Life.”
I was in love with an idea
Preoccupied with how a life should appear
Spending my time at the surface repairing the holes in the shiny veneer
There are so many ways to hide
There are so many ways not to feel
There are so many ways to deny what is real
While God wants us to choose Him, He gives us the freedom to choose a cheap imitation if we so desire. The Apostle Paul warned his fellow believers in Rome against the counterfeit life by referencing the previous generation’s failures:
“So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them – the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! (Romans 1:24-25 The Message).”
Is your life a counterfeit? A portrayal to the majority that you’re a genuine Swiss-made timepiece, yet if appraised would be found to be nothing more than a “genuine replica?” We’re all guilty of this to some degree. What we hide from others is only seen by God and ourselves. The good news is that God can transform you and me when we simply open our lives to Him, turning over our will to His will. This happens when we trade in our fake gods for the true God.
How much time are you spending repairing the holes in your shiny veneer? In what ways are you hiding? How are you denying what is real? Our God stands at the door and knocks through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t force Himself in. Will you open the door and invite Him in?
Prayer: Lord, may we not forsake You, the one who made us, with something we’ve made ourselves. Amen.
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