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A Double Life
Genesis 19:14
"And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law."
In the verse above, Lot found himself in a tough predicament. God warned Lot that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Because these cities were going to be destroyed, and because Lot's family lived in these cities, God showed mercy upon him by allowing him the chance to bring his family out of the cities before their destruction. Herein lies the problem, when Lot went to his daughters and sons-in-law, "...he seemed as one that mocked..." In other words, they looked at the life that he lived around them and compared it to how he lived when the preachers came to his house, and they thought it was a joke. The reason they thought it was a joke was because his private life told a different story than his spiritual life. He was living a double life.
The true test of your Christianity is what your family says about you. You may be able to fool everyone in your church, but your family sees you at your best and worst. Your family sees what you try to hide from the church people. Your family sees what television programs you watch. Your family sees what websites you visit. Your family sees your attitude towards people when you are not around them. Your family sees the true love of your life. They know whether or not you truly love the LORD. You may be able to fool others, but you cannot fool your family.
Herein is the problem, if your private life does not match your public life, then you can be guaranteed to lose your family. Christian, this is why you should be real. This is why you should make the Christian life the real you. You have children who are watching how you live, and they will more than likely copy what you do at home more than what you do in public. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are some children who simply rebel against their parent's lifestyle, but you have a very little chance of your children turning out right if you don't make your private and public life the same.
Let me ask you, if I were to go to your family and ask them how good of a Christian you truly are, what would their answer be? Would you be ashamed if they told me what you are truly like? Better yet, if God sent His angels to your house and you had to go to your children like Lot did, would your children think that you are joking? It is very important that you don't live a double life. For the sake of your family you need to be a real Christian. For the sake of your future grandkids, you need to be a real Christian. For the sake of Christ, you need to be real.
Look at your life and see if you can find any area in which you are living a double life. If you can find an area where you are living a double life, then work on changing that so that your family can see a person who is real and the same all the time. When your family sees that you don't live a double life, then they will know that the Christian life is more than just lip service. When they see it is more than lip service, then you will have a better chance of influencing them to live right themselves.