Lessons From A Hallmark Movie | Day 1 | The “Fake Life” Alarm
I don’t know about you, but this is the time of year that in the evening I like to curl up in my PJ’s and watch a Hallmark Christmas movie. But I have a confession to make: I am not just a seasonal Hallmark consumer like many may be. I like to watch it year round- Valentines, Summer Weddings, Fall Harvest - all of the seasons. Poor Preston, he tolerates my taste in movies. One night, I was on the couch with Mr. Trek, our puppy, dialed into the Hallmark movie on the screen. In this particular scene, the man in the story was cooking a marvelous dinner for the woman he was trying to impress (pretty sure he had cleaned the perfectly decorated house, too). I was watching in a trance, getting all caught up in the scene unfolding. Suddenly, I caught myself and began to speak out loud on repeat, “Fake Life, Fake Life, Fake Life!” like an alarm. Preston rounded the corner at JUST the right time to hear me talking to myself in response to what I saw on the TV. He begins to laugh, I then snap out of my trance and notice him standing there. I'm embarrassed. He laughs so hard he cries. After he settled, he said, “Really, I'm proud of you, for reminding yourself of the truth.”
Maybe you come home to a perfectly cleaned and beautifully decorated house and the smell of an amazing dinner cooked and ready to go, but that is just not the truth in my life. My Christmas tree currently has half the ornaments on it (and has been in this sad state for over a week), I struggled to make tacos last night for dinner, and my husband leaves his socks on the floor instead of in the clothes hamper. When I watched a Hallmark Movie and looked at my life, the most adequate response I could give was, “Fake Life!”
We live in a culture of comparison. The ideal of perfection isn’t just pushed our way through television & movies. A significant amount of our time is spent on social networking sites where we are constantly subconsciously comparing our very normal lives to the filtered lives of others. We look at our real, messy lives, and we compare them to the images that others choose to share (we don’t see the 10 shots it took before the 1 perfect one that we see).
Maybe you're the opposite. Maybe your life has the outward appearance of perfection. Maybe your “stockings are hung on the chimney with care,” but your marriage is in shambles. Maybe you would win best dressed at the party, but your heart is empty and void. Wherever you find yourself, scripture shows us another way...
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 5: 16-18.
The phrase here, “we do not lose heart,” mirrors the phrase “take heart!” in John 16:33. Which is also translated as “Be of Good Cheer!” It would be accurate for us to paraphrase this scripture as:
“So we do not lose our cheer… because we know what is coming!”
Scripture has something to say about the comparison culture we find ourselves in. Paul says, “You want to compare? Go ahead! I promise NOTHING will compare to the eternal weight of glory that is waiting for you!” He says the key is to fix our eyes on what is unseen, not on what is seen. For the things that are seen are wasting away, but the things that are unseen will last forever. Perfect houses, Christmas decorations, wardrobes and everything that we can see are temporary. We are not to fix our eyes, direct our focus, or spend all of our time on these things.
The “Fake Life!” alarm has become an ongoing joke between Preston and I. Whenever we start to get caught up in comparison or in the things that we know are unimportant, one of us will sound the alarm and say, “Fake Life! Fake Life!” Through this silly joke, the Lord has been helping us to realize when we are sliding down the slippery slope of comparison. However, this reminder is not a sad one for us. “We do not lose our cheer,” because we have been given a “Real Life!” that is far more abundant than anything we could imagine (John 10:10; Ephesians 3:20). Yes, my Christmas tree is not perfectly dressed but Jesus has “clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). Yes, we sometimes struggle to get to the grocery store and get dinner on the table, but we know we are invited to the greatest feast of all time (Revelation 19: 9).
Compared to many of our brothers and sisters around the world, these aren't even real struggles. So many aren't struggling with what to have for dinner but will there be dinner. Many aren't worried about decorating a house but are seeking a place to find shelter. Many aren't thinking about presents but instead are thinking about whether or not the illness they are facing will allow them to be present at Christmas. Even these struggles, that seem huge, are "light and momentary afflictions" according to the apostle Paul, who himself suffered all of these things. May we untangle ourselves from the trap of comparison, by letting our gratitude move us to a place of generosity.
The true Joy of Christmas isn’t found in decorations, parties, presents, or even in our family. The Joy of Christmas is found only In His Presence. Our reality, our “Real Life” is found in the Presence of Jesus, and in his presence is the fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11). May we be filled with Cheer this Christmas by acknowledging that He is with us!
