The Pretenders

The man or woman of the world is the dreamer, not the Christian. Sinners can never quite be themselves. They must pretend all their lives. They must act as if they were never going to die, and yet they know too well that they will. They must act as if they have never sinned, when deep in their hearts, they know very well that they have. They must act unconcerned about God and judgment and the future life, and all the time their hearts are deeply disturbed about their precarious condition. They must keep up a front of nonchalance while shrinking from facts and wincing under the lash of conscience. The news of a friend's sudden death leaves them shaken with the suggestion that they may be next, but they dare not show this - they must cover their terror as best they can and continue to act their part. All their adult lives, they must dodge and hide and conceal. When they finally drop the act, they either lose their mind, turn to Christ or try suicide.

             Say, poor worldling, can it be

             That my heart should envy thee?

A. W. Tozer, excerpt from chapter 25 of This World: Playground or Battleground?