Pretend, Pretending, and Deceit. Is it wrong or okay? Does it depend upon the circumstances?

Today’s reading: Word Study “Pretend” NIV
SCRIPTURE 
“As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.” - Genesis 42:7 NIV

“12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. 14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me?” - 1 Samuel 21:12-14 NIV

“1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.” -2 Samuel 14:1-3 NIV
“One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.” -Proverbs 13:7 NIV

“Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.” - Luke 20:20 NIV
“In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.” - Acts 27:30 NIV

OBSERVATION
Is pretending right, wrong, or indifferent? Is pretending different than dreaming? Through-out my childhood society attempted to install in me that “pretending” was something permissible but someone that one should “grow out” of - aka? “Pretending” was deemed socially unacceptable.  However, in my personal attempts to define word / concept - I frequently found it’s definition coming up alongside “one’s dreams / aspirations.”
Okay, let’s go Wiktionary (Wikipedia’s dictionary).  Pretending, is the act of imagining; make-believe.
Let’s keep digging.  The root word, “pretend” is from Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre (“to claim, demand”), from Latin praetendere, present active infinitive of praetendō (“put forward, hold out, pretend”), from prae- (“pre-”) + tendō (“stretch”).

To pretend may be presented as,
To claim, allege, especially when falsely or as a form of deliberate deception. [from 14th c.]
To feign, affect (a state, quality etc.). [from 15th c.]
To lay claim to (an ability, status, advantage etc.). [from 15th c.]  
To make oneself appear to do or be doing something; to engage in make-believe.  

Why would people “pretend”?  Why would God direct people to “pretend”?  What’s the difference in Tekoa pretending (2 Samuel 14:1-3 NIV) and total deceit?  If David wouldn’t have “pretended” to be insane [deceiving his enemy] would he still have become a King (1 Samuel 21:12-14 NIV)?  Because of the past pain Joseph’s brothers cased him, he “pretended” to be a stranger to them and spoke harshly. So, then is “pretending” a tool used to physically and emotional protected us? (Genesis 42:7 NIV)

History is filled individuals the “pretenders” some have done a tremendous amount of harm while others have accomplished a immense amount of good.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
In November 1932 (before the Nazi takeover), there had been an election for presbyters and synodals (church officials) of the German Landeskirche (Protestant established churches). This election was marked by a struggle within the Old-Prussian Union Evangelical Church between the nationalistic German Christian movement and Young Reformers — a struggle which threatened to explode into schism.

Hitler now unconstitutionally imposed new church elections in July 1933. Bonhoeffer put all his efforts into the election, campaigning for the selection of independent, non-Nazi officials.

Despite Bonhoeffer's efforts, in the rigged July election an overwhelming majority of key church positions went to Nazi-supported German Christians.[13] The German Christians won a majority in the general synod of the Old-Prussian Union Evangelical Church and all its provincial synods except Westphalia, and in synods of all other Protestant church bodies, except for the Lutheran churches of Bavaria, Hanover, and Württemberg. These bodies the opposition regarded as uncorrupted "intact churches", as opposed to the other so-called "destroyed churches".

In opposition to Nazification, Bonhoeffer urged an interdict upon all pastoral services (baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc.), but Karl Barth and others advised against such a radical proposal.[14] In August 1933, Bonhoeffer and Hermann Sasse were deputized by opposition church leaders to draft the Bethel Confession, a new statement of faith in opposition to the German Christians. Notable for affirming God's faithfulness to Jews as His chosen people, the Bethel Confession was however so watered down to make it more palatable that later Bonhoeffer himself refused to sign it. In September 1933, Bonhoeffer and his colleague Martin Niemöller helped form the Pfarrernotbund — a forerunner to the Confessing Church that was to be organized in May 1934 at Barmen in opposition to the German Christians.[15]

Although not large, the Confessing Church did represent a major source of Christian opposition to the Nazi government. The Barmen Declaration, drafted by Barth and adopted by the Confessing Church, insisted that Christ, not the Führer, was the head of the church.

For a year and a half, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned at Tegel military prison awaiting trial. There he continued his work in religious outreach among his fellow prisoners and guards. Sympathetic guards helped smuggle his letters out of prison to Eberhard Bethge and others, and these uncensored letters were posthumously published in Letters and Papers from Prison. A guard named Corporal Knobloch even offered to help him escape from the prison and "disappear" with him, and plans were made for that end. But Bonhoeffer declined it fearing Nazi retribution on his family, especially his brother Klaus and brother-in-law who were also imprisoned.[28]

After the failure of the July 20 Plot on Hitler's life in 1944 and the discovery in September 1944 of secret Abwehr documents relating to the conspiracy, Bonhoeffer's connection with the conspirators was discovered. He was transferred from the military prison in Berlin Tegel, where he had been held for 18 months, to the detention cellar of the house prison of the Reich Security Head Office, the Gestapo's high-security prison. In February 1945, he was secretly moved to Buchenwald concentration camp, and finally to Flossenbürg concentration camp.[29]

On April 4, 1945, the diaries of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr, were discovered, and in a rage upon reading them, Hitler ordered that the Abwehr conspirators be destroyed.[30] Bonhoeffer was led away just as he concluded his final Sunday service and asked an English prisoner Payne Best to remember him to Bishop George Bell of Chichester if he should ever reach his home: "This is the end — for me the beginning of life."[31]

Bonhoeffer was condemned to death on April 8, 1945, by SS judge Otto Thorbeck at a drumhead court-martial without witnesses, records of proceedings or a defence in Flossenbürg concentration camp.[32] He was executed there by hanging at dawn on April 9, 1945, just two weeks before soldiers from the United States 90th and 97th Infantry Divisions liberated the camp,[33][34] three weeks before the Soviet capture of Berlin and a month before the capitulation of Nazi Germany. Like other executions associated with the July 20 Plot, the execution was particularly brutal. Bonhoeffer was stripped of his clothing and led naked into the execution yard, where he was hanged with thin wire for death by strangulation. Hanged with Bonhoeffer were fellow conspirators Admiral Wilhelm Canaris; Canaris' deputy General Hans Oster; military jurist General Karl Sack; General Friedrich von Rabenau;[35] businessman Theodor Strünck; and German resistance fighter Ludwig Gehre. Bonhoeffer's brother, Klaus Bonhoeffer, and his brothers-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi and Rüdiger Schleicher were executed elsewhere later in the month.

The camp doctor who witnessed the execution wrote: “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”[31]

Did you get that!!!??!!

Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor who was involved in plans to assassinate Adolf Hitler!  Was Bonhoeffer “pretending” to be a pastor or was he an assassin? Can an individual be both?  How does this line up biblically Old and New Testament?  How did Bonhoeffer process this?

APPLICATION
To pretend or to deceive - Is it wrong or okay? Does it depend upon the circumstances? In other words is “pretending” okay? If yes, when is it permissible and when is it NOT? When does “deceiving” / “pretending” cross over to “logical” justification - and at what point does that become wrong? Does this seem difficult to anyone else? The fact remains that many esteemed people within the bible and through-out history have not been one hundred percent (100%) upfront all the time.  Where does “pretending” cross the line of “trust”?  I’m sure Jesus’ initial response to all my questions is one of Him gently chuckling and smiling as I actively wrestle out my faith (our at least that’s what I picture). Rather than grumbling, arguing, or getting frustrated, I’m choosing to move forward in my relationship with Jesus as I question many socially / biblically imposed concepts.

PRAYER
Lord, I praise you for your power and goodness to those that walk in faith. I ask that you would help me to listen and obey that I might grow in my knowledge and love of you. Help me continue to to step out in faith as I hold fast to You in the midst of reality. - Trevor

Intriguing Communication Style

Matthew 13:10 NIV

SCRIPTURE

““Why do you speak to them [the crowds who came to see Jesus] in parables?”” -Matthew 13:10 NIV

OBSERVATION

In his three-year ministry, Jesus spoke to small groups of followers and massive crowds. So captivating was His teaching that crowds stayed and listened all day, forgetting to even go home and get something to eat (see Luke 9:10-17). Everyone—from the meekest peasant farmer to the mightiest political ruler—wanted to hear Jesus. And those who heard Him were astonished, “for he was teaching them as one who had authority” (Matt. 7:29).

As we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus commonly used parables, stories that illustrated spiritual and moral lessons. And as we read them, we often find ourselves scratching our heads and asking one question: 

Why did Jesus choose to speak in parables when speaking plainly would be so much more effective?

In Matthew 13:10, we’re told that the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them [the crowds who came to see Jesus] in parables?”  AKA. What did He expect to accomplish by not speaking plainly to the crowds?

His answer is fascinating:

“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matt. 13:11-17)

This answer is absolutely shocking. It’s shocking because, in effect, Jesus is telling them, “I speak in parables because the truth of the kingdom of heaven is not theirs to know. They think they see the truth of my kingdom, but they don’t. They think they understand, but they can’t. If they did, they might turn and repent.”

That boggles my mind. It’s hard to grasp the idea that Jesus would not want people to know what He was saying. Yet, He didn’t. Jesus’ explanation of His use of parables reveals that they had a two-fold purpose: to harden the hearts of some who heard, and to cause others to seek out Jesus and ask Him what He meant.  Every time He spoke, He was simultaneously excluding some and including others. Some, after hearing His particularly difficult teachings, turned away and “no longer walked with Him” (John 6:66). But others were drawn to Him. They did not simply except the unknown, but were fueled by what they did not know to learn more. And the fascinating thing is that when people drew near, when they asked Him to explain, as the disciples did, He was happy to oblige.

APPLICATION

Today, it’s considered fashionable by some to speak and write about the Christian faith in ambiguous terms. To “embrace the mystery” of Christianity, as some might say. To leave things mysterious, all in the name of humility. It's true, there is much we do not understand nor can expect to understand about the "mysterious ways" in which God works. But in effect, by allowing vague, ambiguous teachings on Christianity, they’re choosing not to communicate anything at all. In doing so, men and women of faith, and often very popular ones, are actually breaking the prime rule of communication: Communicators communicate.

While there are many things that God chooses to keep secret from us, He does want us to know who He is, what He expects of us and how we can be rightly related to Him. And these things He has made clear within the pages of Scripture. He has made His will known to His creatures. And He expects those who would teach his people to make it known. So, to speak as though we can’t know with any certainty what God has made knowable—especially under the guise of following the example of Jesus—is not humility. It is the height of arrogance.

Jesus was never mysterious for the sake of being mysterious. He didn’t speak in riddles and vagaries to create a mystique. God is not a beat poet. Jesus’ parables were not meant to be a stumbling block for His disciples. Rather, all things were revealed to them by Him, for those who longed to hear.

Similarly, the role of the Christian is to patiently explain all that has been revealed with gentleness and humility, not cloak His message in ambiguity. Acknowledge what you do not know, seek to know more—and share what you can until the day when all things are made clear.

PRAYER

God, Thank you for pursuing individuals as your created them. Communication - Help me. Help me continue to pull things back to what I know as true, refine and sharpen all that I allow to come out of my mouth. Jesus you had a very intriguing communication style - please teach me more... 

- Trevor

Lessons Learned F/ Encouragement & Deceitfulness

Hebrews 2:14-18 NIV

SCRIPTURE

“encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” -Hebrews 3:13 NIV

OBSERVATION

en·cour·age/enˈkərij/Verb

1. Give support, confidence, or hope to (someone): "encouraging results"; "I feel encouraged".

Words can heal or words can kill. Words can deliver life or death. It is our choice – we pour our own spirit into our words. God gave us the gift of words, hoping that we would steward them well. Words can focus on us or on others. There are words that build up and words that tear down. Negative words can be dangerous: if we hear them enough, we start believing they are true. The worst part is, after the negative words have been spoken, we tend to repeat those same words to ourselves. Words can also deliver healing or deliver wounds. We have to choose which it will be. Death and life are all in the power of the tongue. 

APPLICATION

1. Express Appreciation

Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The only way to neutralize evil is to replace it by actively doing something good. We have to replace the mistakes by actually complimenting and building others up. We have to practice expressing appreciation.

2. Dedicate Our Thoughts to God Today

Our actions and words need to be pleasing to the Lord. Yet, if our thoughts please Him, everything else will follow suit. What is on our minds and hearts is more important to God. God looks at our hearts; we have to make sure that our hearts are right. God tells us to be careful how we process things on the inside because, sooner or later, they are going to come out of our mouths.

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45).

3. Commit to Making Wrong Things Right

We might think that, if we make mistakes with our tongue, the best thing to do is just “zip our lip.” We decide not to say anything anymore and just be quiet. That will not work – if that is our goal to not make any mistakes then we will not make any contributions either.  We will make mistakes but we are not to leave them as mistakes. We are to correct them! Otherwise, our words will go out with barbs wounding people and we will not even know it. If we make a mistake, God says, “Make it right.”

“If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, or have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself … go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor … Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand and like a bird from the hand of the fowler” (Prov. 6:2-5).

God wants us to understand the power of words and to steward them well. They can deliver life or death. God wants to bring His Words of life to us. If we have prepared our hearts and our ears by stewarding words well, not only can we hear Him but we can also deliver that life to others.

PRAYER

Lord, help me put this into action today, so that, I will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness - aka: God I need Your help to put this into action within my life.  I need You to transform another aspect. Why? So that, I my heart doesn’t become hard and I don’t start to buy into the false notation that all this bible stuff is just trickery. - Trevor