Most everyone has heard of John Wayne, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Richard Gere, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. They are famous people who have one thing in common: they are all actors. They play roles that millions recognize and enjoy as entertainment. Although we have seen them many times in films, we probably know these people more by the roles they have played than for who they really are as individuals. This can lead to very interesting situations. Sometimes an actor plays a role so convincingly that members of an audience begin to believe the actor is actually the person they portray on the screen! A German actor, Klausjurgen Wussow, who played the role of the chief medical doctor in a TV film series called Schwartzwaldklinik (Black Forest Hospital), once mentioned in an interview that he received many letters from people who watched his films asking him for medical advice—in spite of the fact he had no medical training and was not a real doctor!
Actors and Reality
But you may be wondering just what can you learn from this and what does all this have to do with your life as a Christian? Simply this—we not only play many roles in life, we have roles as sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Some people play these roles more effectively than others. Even as Christians we play a role, yet many fail because they merely "play" this role instead of becoming what the role requires. Christians must "live" their roles, fulfilling their responsibilities. This is where knowing something about actors and acting can be helpful.
An actor and the character played by the actor are usually two very different people. When actors are on stage or in front of a camera they simply play a role. When the camera goes off, or when they leave the stage, they become a different person—they become themselves—who they really are. Actors are seldom like the characters they play when they are acting. However, as we have seen, actors who play their roles convincingly can lead people to believe they are something they are not—they can deceive other people. Sometimes actors can lose touch with reality and deceive themselves into believing they are something they are not because of the role-playing that goes on. The critical point to remember is that actors only play their role for a temporary period of time. While they are acting they are only pretending. When they play a role we do not see their real personalities or know their deepest convictions— we only see what the actor wants us to see. Actors just pretend to be a different person while they are doing their job in front of other people—and this is what has important implications for Christians.
When we are called to become Christians we cannot be actors—we must actually become a different person (see Acts 3:19; Romans 12:1–2). Christians are called to be ambassadors of the government of God and representatives of God's way of life (2 Corinthians 5:20). These are not just roles that we learn to play in front of people. True Christians must actually become real ambassadors who are deeply convicted about God's way of life. One of the major differences between an actor and a real ambassador of a nation is that the ambassador is an official representative twenty-four hours a day—wherever he goes and in whatever he does. As Christians, we have a similar responsibility of representing Jesus Christ in everything we do and say. We cannot just be actors when we are at church or when we are around other Christians! We must become real Christians who actually live by every word of God all the time (Matthew 4:4).
The ultimate future for Christians is to become members of God's family and participate in the coming kingdom of God. There we will actually be kings and priests (Revelation 5:10). These will not be temporary roles that any actor can play; they will be permanent assignments! We will not be able to pretend to be godly leaders and rulers. To succeed and be effective, we must actually develop the character and wisdom necessary to be real kings and priests that God can use to advance His kingdom. Anyone who is just acting will not receive these rewards!
This brings up some interesting questions. If you have attended church and followed God's way of life for years, and you then drift off in other directions, were you just playing a role? Were you just pretending? Are you deeply committed to God's Church and to God's way of life, or are you simply playing a role that is convenient or expected for now? Is the person that people see at church the real you—or are they watching an actor? The word "hypocrite" comes from a Greek word meaning "actor"—though today it is used to describe someone who puts on a false appearance in word or deed. This is something to think about.
Role of the Heart
But what is the key to becoming a real Christian, a successful ambassador and an effective future king or priest? If we truly desire to follow Jesus Christ and become real Christians we must develop the right attitude. This involves our deepest intentions, our deepest motivations— what is really in our heart. We must earnestly desire, and strive to develop, the very heart and mind of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5). David became "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) because David earnestly asked God, "create in me a clean heart" (Psalm 51:10). If we want to develop a godly heart we must let God's laws be a "lamp to our feet, and a light to our path" (Psalm 119:105). We must also develop real compassion for those around us (Matthew 23:37).
The Christian process of becoming a different person with a godly heart also involves being careful not to have an evil heart (Hebrews 3:12). The Bible tells us, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). Human reasoning, influenced by Satan and the ideas of this world, can be very deceptive. If we begin to trust ourselves instead of relying on God's word to guide us we can easily become actors and actually deceive ourselves—thinking we are right when we are actually very wrong (see Jeremiah 17:5–8). This is why Jesus warned us to carefully watch the words that come out of our mouths because our words reflect what is in our heart (Luke 6:45). As Christians we must constantly strive for a pure heart by examining our thoughts and intentions and bring "every thought" into subjection to Christ's instructions (2 Corinthians 10:3–5). This is what the Bible refers to as "circumcision" of the heart (Romans 2:29). It involves recognizing and getting rid of thoughts and actions that are contrary to God's laws. True Christians cannot be actors who pretend to think one way and then behave another way. Our actions must come to reflect our true thoughts—God's thoughts.
The Apostle Paul states that he had a pure heart and a pure conscience (Acts 23:1) because that was his overriding goal (Acts 24:16). If we really desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) we will strive to have a pure heart. This is important because our prayers will not be effective if we know we have sins and evil thoughts in our heart that we continue to tolerate. We become actors when we pretend we are OK and do not make the required effort to overcome and get rid of evil thoughts and habits. Are you "playing a role"? Or are you truly striving to fulfill your God-given responsibilities?
God wants us to succeed and to be in His kingdom. To have a pure heart is the beginning of all good things and the key to obtaining the rewards that God has promised. Real Christians cannot be actors who pretend to be something when they are not. True Christians must really become different people—people after God's own heart. This is how we can become successful ambassadors, and serve effectively in the kingdom of God as kings and priests. This is why Jesus said, "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Jesus was not talking to actors. He was pointing the way to real and lasting success.