Parents would never purposely encourage activities that might later grow into hypocrisy, and this is just a thought: but could allowing little girls to play dress up, and little boys to play cowboys and Indians lead to pretense and hypocrisy?
However, normal children appear to be born with imaginary minds. That appears especially true of an only child who has no siblings with whom to play, and often they’ll have an imaginary friend.
Also little girls enjoy dressing up in their mothers’ clothes, high heel shoes, hats and gloves, and wearing make-up. Then they enjoy attending imaginary tea parties and drinking imaginary tea. Could this wanting to look like adults be one reason children now are growing up so fast?
Many little boys play Cowboys and Indians and use toy guns; some may become gangsters, but perhaps the percentage is small. Evidently other factors caused them to go astray. So maybe pretending will pass without leaving lasting ill-results. But don’t most of us still pretend to be something we are not? some color hair different colors, some try to cover wrinkles and age spots with expensive creams. And this is rather personal, but many years I damaged my feet by wearing shoes with high heels, and too small for my feet because I did not want to wear a larger size. I also wore long -line bras and girdles in an effort to hide my true size. But God saw me just like I was and had I not pretended, perhaps my old body would be in better shape today.
Father, forgive us: because if honest, most of us are pretenders in some area of our lives, but we can not pretend with You nor do we need to pretend. You love us just as we are flaws and all. We thank and praise You in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
