A little bit of Dorian Gray.

     It’s hard to believe that one of my favorite stories of all time was written by a man named Oscar Wilde. People today know more about his scandalous lifestyle than the books that he authored.  I doubt that Wilde wanted to write a book that would challenge me in my Christian walk. Yet, his insights into human nature in the book, “The Portrait of Dorian Gray,” still resonate to me as a believer.

     Why does this book still haunt me as a man who is now middle aged, let alone why do I think that as a believer we need to read this book? Let me give you just a brief synopsis of the book for those who have never read it.

     Dorian is a young man of great beauty. He is a man who has been unmarked by the lines of sin. While a portrait of him is being painted by one of his friends he is introduced to another man who is a hedonist by nature. His whole philosophy of life could be summed up as, “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die.” He appeals to the carnal nature of Dorian.

     Dorian is then frustrated by the issue of how that one day he will lose his looks.  He knows that as the years go by, time will eventually strip him of all of his beauty. He then prays, for lack of a better word, that the canvas his portrait is painted on will carry the marks of his age and his sins. Dorian will see this prayer answered. He will grow older never having a blemish upon his body. The canvas though will be marred by every line and every sin his soul commits or even imagines. His deceptions, greed, lust and every evil will be placed upon his portrait’s face.

     He sees the portrait being marred and takes it to a room upstairs where he tries to hide it from men’s prying eyes.  His sins are thus hidden and kept from the light of day. At the end of the book though, all will be revealed. Dorian will be exposed for who he truly was in life.

     Scriptures talk much about the hidden sins of our lives. No greater example can be found then that of the Pharisees. Jesus would state how that they looked like a beautiful white washed building but on the inside they were filled with dead men’s bones. Their lives looked like a beautiful cup but on the inside of the cup it was filled with dregs. Jesus then tells them all that all will one day be revealed.

     The problem that I have when I am reading these passages is that I catch myself with a certain amount of glee. I shout out to the heavens, “Go get ‘em’ Jesus.”  These guys deserve all that you dish out to them.  Wait a second though.

     How many times have I pretended to be something that I am not? How many times have I tried to continue on in a sin and try to hide it from those who know me?  It will always be easy to see the hypocrisy of others, but what about mine? I might keep my sins hidden from others but my own portrait will never be hidden from the eyes of God. He not only knows what I do on the outside but also the sins that live within my heart. My thoughts, my motives, my actions are all painted before His eyes.

     Father, keep my heart pure. Allow me to live a life that is pleasing before you. Help me to see when I am living in hypocrisy. Give me a heart that has as its main desire to please you rather than my flesh. I want to live a life that is the same as it is in the dark as it is in the light. Wash me from the sin of hypocrisy.  Keep me from falling into the sins of Dorian Gray.