The Appearance of Godliness
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
2 Timothy 3:5
Organization has never been a strong suit of mine. This was incredibly obvious before I was married. Looking around my house, there was no system for where things belonged. Instead, everything had a temporary home. As a rule, the floor was the largest shelf in my house.
However, when company came, my house needed to have the appearance of organization. One room stacked everything that did not have a place. No one was allowed in there. Everywhere else looked organized. Everything needed to appear as if it was there on purpose. Those items were there because of how they looked or because their usefulness was efficient there.
The truth was that even though I tried to maintain an appearance of organization, none existed. Furthermore, when trying to display the house in a certain way, I became more disorganized. I no longer had items in the place I was used to looking for them. Trying to find things after having company was an impossible task.
Paul warns that some will treat their Christianity this same way. They do not strive for godliness. In fact, in the verses above, we see that they have incredibly ungodly attitudes: pride, arrogance, ingratitude, deceitfulness, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Despite being antithetical to godliness, they try to fool others by having the appearance of godliness.
As Christians, we need to be careful that we do not get wrapped up in this mindset. Our relationship with God focuses on our hearts. Some people mistakenly focus on external habits to show their godliness. Some might focus only on church attendance or Bible reading. Others take comfort in avoiding more public sins. These actions alone do not provide godliness. Even prayer and giving can give the appearance of godliness while proving that no such godliness exists (Matthew 6:2, 5).
Godliness comes from being transformed into the image of God. Therein lies the power, that God can take someone as stained with sin as we are and cleanse us from all of them. He can release us from the bond of slavery and make us free men, able to live righteous and holy lives. The power of God can create a clean heart within us, one that diligently seeks Him. How sad it is that some try to cheapen it. To them, it is only something to look good in the eyes of those around them. We must always strive to have true godliness, and not just settle for the appearance of it.
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
2 Timothy 3:5