Real thing or bad imitation?

Leviticus 17 - 19

The Academy awards are this coming Sunday in Hollywood.  The Oscar is awarded to the person that pretends better than the other people in the same category.  Don't get me wrong I love a good movie, but it is all about pretending or imitating.  

What saddens me is that our world is being built daily into a world of pretending;  we pretend we are something we aren't or we desire to pretend that we are something we aren't.  Some of you are probably saying what do you mean Debbie it's all about doing better, it's about deserving more, it's about rewarding ourselves for something well no I don't think so.  It's about pretending to be something so someone will like us more, want to be around us more, we aren't sure if they will like the real me, so I'll pretend I'm something else.  It's about approval, but whose?

Today in Leviticus 18:3, God's Word clearly tells us You must not imitate their way of life.  Now here it is referencing the Egyptians that the Israelies had just left and the Canaanites that they were about to meet, but it means the same thing to us!  We are not to look like others.  Christians are set apart by God.  God gives us His Word to live by with very clear instructions; whether it was then or now, whether is in Egypt a long time ago or America now our thoughts and actions should be and are suppose to be different from the world.  

The people from Israel were leaving behind a country filled with pagan gods and they were about to enter a new land filled with idols that weren't real, so God was telling them very clearly do not act like them.  God knew it would be easy to conform to way of life around a person rather than stand out and  look different!  He knew this and He knows this, but He expects us to be "set apart" and be different from the world!

Today, the question that God was asking me and in turn I ask you ~ Are we the real thing or a poor imitation?

Sweet blessings,

Debbie