"Poser"

I listened to the words he said,

And how he said ‘em, too,

I thought, but never verbalized,

Just what I know is true.

My mind flashed back to long ago,

But clear and not time-dim,

When I knew or thought I did,

As much or more than him.

He rattled on, opinions loud,

‘Bout horse and cowboy ways,

You’d think he was a real top hand,

Been spending all his days,

Doing what he talked about,

But that was not the case,

I thought I’d roll my jeans leg up,

His claims, they had no base.

Except how skilled in his own eyes,

The pose appeared as real,

But the bottom line, my friend,

Pretending was his deal.

And so it is in cowboy world,

Some just have the look,

But don’t know much about a cow,

They’re phonies in my book.

And true in other walks of life,

Some do and some deceive,

Best to learn from doers,

The rest not to believe.

And them that know don’t carry,

Need to boast or to impress,

They realize that some know more,

And some that know much less.

Humility will always be,

What triggers grace in full,

When it’s our turn we’d better learn,

To filter out the bull.

“Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This ‘letter’ is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3, NLT)

There are phonies and fakes in every human endeaver, most if not all of them pretending in order to manipulate. Spiritually and biblically speaking we are to be the opposite of such people. To be authentic in our dedication to the Lord means we are humbly seeking to do what He’s called us to do. Paul said that we are letters written by the Holy Spirit to communicate God’s message. When we live on purpose from the heart, the testimony is unmistakable. People need the real deal, nothing less and nothing else.

Lord, help us live as letters that clearly communicate Your salvation, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Weller, used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.