It was during my morning walk. I was nearing the end of my first lap, getting ready to start the second one. That’s when I saw it. There was a possum lying on the other side of the road. It lay perfectly still. Never moving. I wasn’t sure if it was dead or alive, but I didn’t want to get too close. I couldn’t see any injuries or worse on it. There were no flies swarming around, and I didn’t see any blood. I wondered. Could that possum be playing me? Could it be playing dead? Did it want me to assume that it was of no further use on this earth? I don’t know. But I did know that I didn’t want to find out. Now mind you. I don’t know if a possum would try to attack a human, but I didn’t want to find that out, either. So I continued on my walk. But, I decided to shorten the second lap so I wouldn’t pass by the animal again.

The next day, I noticed that the possum wasn’t there. Hmmm. Something sounds fishy to me. And two days later when I walked by, I noticed a peculiar odor in that area. I don’t know if the possum had died and someone had moved it into the ditch. I didn’t stop to find out. And then the following day, there was no foul odor. So, I don’t know what happened to the possum. I really don’t think he was dead, but I can’t be sure.

I read that possums play dead when they feel threatened. It’s a natural defense mechanism that occurs when their attempt to ward off a predator fails. They just drop over and enter a death-like state. This seemingly innocent act saves them from actual death. They fake out their opponents by pretending to die before their opponent actually kills them.

Pretending to die isn’t a strategy the possum chooses. It’s a natural reflex to extreme stress and physical threats. Faking their death keeps them alive to live another day.

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Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Galatians 1:10

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There are people who call themselves Christian, but they don’t live according to biblical principals. They pretend to be one thing when they’re something else. They fake out innocent victims who are searching for the truth in the hopes of detracting them from it. They don’t instinctively roll over and play dead, but they do pretend to be something they’re not. Are they playing a human version of possum just to avoid a stressful situation?

Sometimes even strong believers have a moment of weakness and assume a posture of hypocrisy in order to avoid criticism. When our beliefs clash with those of other believers, we can agree to disagree if the disagreement is one that does not conflict with the essential teachings of salvation. Some biblical teachings are essential for all believers who call themself Christians. And some are not essential. When we do disagree on a secondary issue, we can choose to disagree agreeably. There are times when compromise is necessary, but only when we aren’t compromising the truth of God’s Word. The Word of God can never be compromised. It is infallible.

Even the apostle Peter had a moment of hypocrisy. As a Jew, he lived in accordance with the Jewish laws. But then he went to Antioch to preach to the Gentiles who had much different standards. And when he was with the Gentiles, he lived as a Gentile. He didn’t adhere to the strict Jewish laws. But when some Jewish friends came to visit, he wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles. He was even able to sway other Jewish converts to follow his pattern of hypocrisy. Peter thought he was just trying to create a harmonious atmosphere, but he was caught in the middle of two sets of belief. And he was called out for it when Paul visited and confronted him to his face. Paul called him a hypocrite. Paul knew that Peter stood on dangerous ground when he chose to change his beliefs when faced with both sides of the argument. You can’t have it both ways and still be right.

As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. Galatians 2:13

Was it fear of not being accepted by his fellow Jewish partners that caused him to set aside eating with the Gentiles? Or, was it because he was just trying to play nice with everyone? Peter was a leader among Christian leaders and he failed in his actions. Oh. He’s not the first. And he probably won’t be the last. But there’s a lesson for us today.

We can’t pretend to believe one thing when we’re with one group of believers and then pretend we believe something different when we’re with another set of believers. We need to know what we believe and why we believe it. And then we must stand strong in our convictions. Not everyone will agree with us, but that’s ok. Let’s not live as hypocrites. Let’s stand strong in biblical beliefs so others can be won to Christ because of our steadfast testimony. We can’t act against what we know is right just to please others. Our goal as Christians must be to please God. No one else.

Even when we face potential criticism because of our faithful stance of obeying God, we don’t have to bow to the pressures of others. God is on our side, and he continually fights for us. We don’t need to please others just to get along. We can respect differences of beliefs and opinions while we stand for truth. We have to remind ourselves that God is the one who examines our motives. He’s the one who is truth, and he knows when we stand for or against it.

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4