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Crossing Cultures Making Disciples Memoir

Seem or be?

Seasoned servant. Leaving, after spending many years in the dark city by the river. Her parting advice to one of our colleagues is borne out of long experience in the spiritual battle. 

Those insightful words reach my ears at a retreat in the Himalayas. 

One phrase sticks in my heart. And comes to mind, from time to time.

“Do you want to seem holy? Or be holy?”

Dark city by the river. Image by Lewis J Goetz, Unsplash.

Seem holy?

The setting of her admonition is not lost on me. Place of spiritual pilgrimages and idol worship. Ceremonies praising the goddess of the holy river. “Holy men” wandering the streets, dispensing spiritual advice. 

The full piece is a cadence of questions. With a final punch at the end.

“Do you want to seem holy? Or be holy?
Do you want to seem like a good wife? Or be a good wife?
Do you want to seem like a good minister? Or be a good minister?
Don’t be guilty of the sin of seeming.”

Hypocrite

Over the three years of His earthly ministry, Jesus calls out religious hypocrites. And doesn’t mince words. 

Blind fools. Blind guides. Whitewashed tombs. Snakes. (Matthew 23)

These religious leaders know the law backwards and forwards. But miss the truth. And lead others away from His ways.

“…On the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (v. 28).

Do you want to seem righteous? Or be righteous?

Veneer

One morning I’m reading Revelation 3. And notice the difference between seem and be illustrated. In words to the church in Sardis.

“I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.” (3:1)

This is more than believers struggling along the road to maturity. It’s a church that’s about to die “for I have not found your works complete before my God” (3:2).

The veneer of Christian talk and church attendance can build a reputation. Hide reality. Cloak and serve the sin of seeming. 

Do you want to seem alive? Or be alive?

Facade

Believers too can fall into living a facade. Seeming what we’re not. Relying on past experiences in our walk with the Lord. 

An occasional miss can edge toward ongoing neglect of the necessary. Failing to prioritize daily food from His Word and conversation with the Lord. Not gathering with other believers for fellowship and worship. 

A dangerous disregard in the ongoing spiritual battle.

Seem or be?

During a season of just keeping up appearances, I was attending a conference with my parents. The speaker spoke with clarity and his message was filled with Scripture.

He effortlessly quoted the Word of God. Not solitary verses, but entire passages. 

This flood of truth cut straight to the heart of the matter. Exposing my sin and faltering faith walk. Calling me to abide in Him.

And I knew, then and there. I didn’t want to seem obedient. I wanted to be obedient.

Be holy

In his letter to the exiles, believers scattered across that part of the world, Peter urges them to get their minds ready for action. 

To be self-disciplined. And set their hope completely on the grace to be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

He warns, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance.”

And exhorts, “but as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘Be holy,  because I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:13-16)

Do you want to seem holy? Or be holy?

What about you?

Have you ever put up a facade of holiness? How did the Lord teach you the difference between seem and be?

Related posts

Be holy – Set free on the Sabbath – Such as it is – Redeemed – Wholehearted devotion – Heart and soul – Trust in the Lord – Entering the land – Stones in the river – Divided heart – Earthen vessels – Be alert and pray – Abiding in Christ – Living water – Place – 

18 replies on “Seem or be?”

Susan, Along with your powerful scriptural references for your important message, do you realize that you are also quoting from “Hamlet,” which I believe you studied in a classroom in Indonesia many years ago. Hamlet to his mother, I believe — another case of (more worldly) “seeming” being actually “UNseemly”! Blessings on this great and good work.

Thanks for passing on this warning! It is so easy to fall into comparison with other people- when I am called to imitate Christ!

Forgive me Lord! Thank you for compelling me to not “seem” through your Word and the gift of Susan’s writings! To your Glory. Amin

Thanks for this reminder. So easy to fall into. The relationship with Him is what matters. Not how I look to others.

Thank you. The Lord challenges and tests the integrity of His beloved children. He is determined that our hidden life matches our open life. Whole life oneness by abiding in Christ and living for an audience of one.

Thank you for reminding us of the difference. God knows our hearts. He values the “proven character of our faith…” (1 Peter 1:7)

A prophetic message for all believers, what an easy trap to fall into, I have been there for sure! Christ is calling me into a season of intensive yearning for him and seeking him above all else so your post really resonates with me.

Thank you, and I write this as one who has also been there i this sin, and has come out the other side, by the grace of God’s discipline. We are justified by faith alone BUT the faith that saves is NEVER alone. Unless we are sanctified (made holy) by living out that same faith in Jesus we will prove that we have never been saved and that we are still dead in our sins. “Without holiness, no-one will see the Lord” (No-one at all). “Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but ONLY he who DOES the will of my Father in Heaven”; “Those who love me obey my commands”; “Faith without deeds is dead” (James).

Satan loves nothing more than to secure another soul to Hell, even if he has to use self-deception to do it. Yes, it is possible for a Minister/Pastor to firmly believe they are saved yet not be. The Pharisee’s and Sadducees all really believed they were chosen by God and secure, yet Christ called them Hypocrites. Jesus also warned that even those who said “Did we not cast out demons in your name and in your name do great wonders”, that he would say “Away from me you evildoers. I never knew you”. It is not enough to think you believe in Jesus, nor to act as though you do. You have to REALLY truly believe in him, trust him, and PUT YOUR FAITH/trust into practice, thereby proving you belong to him.

If, during an argument, someone accused you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Even if your heart was revealed? God knows your true heart so we need to take his warnings really seriously.

This is why Paul warned us to “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to act according to his good purpose” – it takes “work” and it involves “fear” of God (even as Christians), and it is God who works in us. If God is NOT working in us, BOTH to Will AND to ACT then we do not belong to him and we are still in our sins and going to Hell, no matter our upbringing, conversion experiences, lifestyle, or self-belief. It is healthy to doubt yourself but only if you flee to the Cross, and ask Him to grant you repentance.

I hope this helps and encourages, but also warns the deceived or complacent among us. As I mentioned, I was one of these and am now vigilant and working hard to persevere in a real faith, day-by-day, by God’s grace towards me in Christ. This is what Pau means when he says “I worked harder than any of you, yet it was not I but Christ who worked in me” and so no-one can or should boast except in Christ. If Christ is not working in you then you have a serious problem and need to take it seriously, for the sake of your eternal soul and the glory of God.

Feel free to ask for clarifications etc. And thank you again for a bold and courageous article, much needed.
Caroline x

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