Editorial October 28, 1972 Issue

Being or Pretending?

Carl J. Welz

One of the deep moving forces in the formation of our attitudes today is the impulsion to identify ourselves honestly. Much of what we see as people turning away from religion and from long-accepted moral standards is the result of this moving force. People don't want to be bad; they want to be themselves. They don't want to pretend; they want to be what they really are.

Christ Jesus warned against hypocrisy. He said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."Matt. 7:15; But the details of his Sermon on the Mount clearly imply a step-by-step overcoming of a false sense of oneself while striving for moral and spiritual perfection as children of God. One who advocates living honestly but insists that this means living as a biological, chemical being may claim to be a true prophet. But is he?

If we were biological, chemical beings, and no more, it might appear hypocritical to act as though we were anything more. But we are, in reality, spiritual beings, children of God. An honest, living statement of Truth must show forth all we know of that fact. If we know we are spiritual beings, the attempt to justify open immorality on the ground that it represents truth is hypocrisy. Of course, the attempt to justify private immorality also denies our relationship to God. And in this age there is no excuse for ignorance of the true facts of this spiritual relationship.

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