There is a movie that was released in 1959 that is one of my absolutely favorite movies. It is called "Imitation of Life." The movie is about a young woman that never wanted to be who her heritage said she was. She was ashamed of her mother. She ran away from her identity and tried to make others believe she was something she was not. It left her with regrets and a sad, lonely life.
Imitating God is not making others believe you are something you are not. It is learning how to be the image of Him to others, a reflection of Him, if you will. The bible is very clear about hypocrisy.
Matthew 23:1-7 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, (2) saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. (3) Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. (4) For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. (5) But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. (6) They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, (7) greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'
The emphasis in the above scriptures is mine, but take a look at what Jesus is saying. He is saying don't say one thing and do another. Those that do one thing and say another are hypocrits. These few scriptures define hypocrisy. When Paul said in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of God, he was not saying to behave as the pharisees...saying one thing and doing another. That is why in Ephesians 5:3,4 he said this:
Ephesians 5:3-4 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; (4) neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
What comes out of our mouths must line up with the Word of God. If we are going to call ourselves Christians, then not only do we attend church on Sunday, but we outwardly display the things of God that Jesus did while He was on this earth. We show the love of Christ through our words AND our actions. We cannot say we love people and then cuss out the server at the restaurant because our meal unsatisfactory. Is it easy? No, not at all. It can be difficult to maintain the right mindset. We need to keep ourselves clear of distractions and imitate the ways of Jesus as we learn to be overcomers. Putting away the behaviors that are mentioned above is one way we learn to overcome. Do you know what Jesus did regularly? He got away from the crowds, even the disciples, and went to pray by Himself to the Father. He rested. He cleared the potential distractions so He could focus on what the will of His Father was. How are we to imitate God, and focus on what His will is for us when we clutter our lives with distractions? We can't. How do we imitate Him without being seen as a hypocrit? We concentrate on putting off all the things and behaviors in our lives that would prevent us from being as children in our obedience to His word. Ephesians 5 goes on to say:
Ephesians 5:5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Those who participate in the behavior above have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. Notice that covetousness is mentioned as well and the covetous man is called an idolator. That means that one who covets something has made that thing an idol in his or her life and it has become more important to that person than God. What is the single most important thing in your life? What do you spend the most time doing? Now ask yourself, is it really that important? Is it preventing you from claiming victory and becoming an overcomer in Christ?
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