Actors and actresses are known to go into  deep study of the character they are going to play before the film shooting starts. Dustin Hoffman, an outstanding, multi-awarded and well known Hollywood actor was reported to have internalized the role of an autistic character he played in the film "Rain Man" so much so that even long after the film has finished shooting, he still found himself acting and thinking the way that autistic did in the film.

For some people, however, the roles that they are playing every minute and every hour of every day are no longer theater or film roles but rather roles that, in their own peculiar way of thinking, they are supposed to play because that's the way they want people to believe they are. To some, the roles can also become "real". Those who are familiar with literature may still remember the famous character Don Quixote who fought the windmills believing they were real enemies, albeit metaphorically.

Psychologists often talk about the common problem our society has. They said that we are living in a time where people can hardly find any role model that's worthy of the title. And unless one is looking for a role model like Rambo or Dirt Harry, the chances of finding a good one is diminishing at a very fast rate. People who make decency and compassion as their life's virtue and pursuit are fast becoming an extinct specie. This leads many individuals, young and old, to grab at any approximation of what they think is ideal. And certain persons are better at following the footsteps of their role models than others, regardless whether the latter's prowess was just another creation of media hype and misplaced values extolled to high heavens by television and posters. Internalization by these misled followers enable them not only to do what their role models would normally do but also to think the way their role models think.

What has all these grand digression to do with us Christians?

For one, we can learn a few things from the way the actors "transform" themselves into the very character they are playing. For sure an actor doesn't just step into camera range and become somebody else without preparation. And that preparation includes a careful study of the roles they are playing. Here's a typical scenario:

Actor: If I am playing Mahatma Gandhi, I should read all I can about his life, his wants, his thoughts, how he does things and his reasons for doing them.

Christian: I want to be just like Christ. Then I should come to church looking holy, acting holy, speaking holy, and try to be so at least for the whole duration of the services.

Actor: Now I know a lot about Gandhi. I'll make it a habit to think, feel and act like him at home, in the street, at work every minute of my waking hour.

Christian: Now here I am in the church. Time to act.

After some time:

Actor: Gets and Academy Award.
Christian: Gets tired.

Moral of the story: Christians are poor actors because they are supposed to live what they sometimes only show by acting. Apostle Paul admonished the Christians of Rome by saying that they should "...put on the Lord Jesus..." because this is one way of "...putting on the armor of light...". (Romans. 13:12). Do we make Christ our own role models in life? Do as the actors do but a little bit more. Know about Christ today. Believe in the same things that He believed; do the things that He did - short of dying on the cross yourself; have the same friends that He had; be moved by the same burdens; be gladdened by His promises; be saddened by the same sights of sinfulness and unrighteousness. Then, by God's grace, we may be just like Him.