Are We Being Two-Faced with God?

On Wednesday, we celebrated the feast of St. Bartholomew, the apostle and martyr of whom Jesus said in St. John’s Gospel, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47). The word duplicity means “deceitfulness; double-dealing” and also refers to being two ways in thought, word, or action; essentially, being two-faced. Jesus tells us that St. Bartholomew was not this way and that he was honest and straightforward in all of his ways, both earthly and spiritual. Jesus also implies that one must be this way in order to be a child of Israel, or a member of the kingdom of God, the Church, when He calls St. Bartholomew a “true” child of Israel. And although it is also important to be honest and straightforward with others, we should take an even closer look at how we have been acting in this regard toward God, as our relationship with Him is reflected in our relationship with others. If we aren’t honest with others, what does that say about our spiritual life?

We can be two-faced with God in a lot of aspects of our lives and it can sometimes manifest itself in subtle ways. Perhaps we believe what the Church teaches on things like modesty, but then when we’re in a rush or we just don’t feel like dressing well, we let it slide. Or we may believe that showing God reverence at all times is important, but when we are out dining at a restaurant we forget or simply decide to skip grace before meals. Not only are we being two-faced in our relationship with God, but we’re giving others the impression that our faith and relationship with God isn’t really the most important thing in our lives even though we may want to say it is, and that does nothing to fulfill our call to evangelize and spread the kingdom of God in the world.

Duplicity can also show up in our inner spiritual lives as well, perhaps as a trust issue, trusting God in some situations but not others. This is not always our fault and can be the result of poor relationships with others being projected onto our relationship with God. However, we have a responsibility to truly examine why we feel this way and try to remedy it, whether through outside professional help if we’ve had a traumatic experience, or just asking God for healing in those areas and help with trusting Him in all things. Once we learn how to do this, we can pass on to others the confidence we have in God and we will no longer feel unsure about His help and His mercy in any situation.

In order to fix any duplicity in us, we have to dig deeply and really examine our conscience, asking ourselves what is really at the root of this duplicity. Are we more focused on the opinions of others than God’s opinion of us? As I mentioned before, there may be something from our past that is hindering trust in our relationship with God. Whatever it is, if we really want to uproot this two-faced attitude toward God and become a true child of His kingdom, we must apply ourselves and put the work in. And we can look to St. Bartholomew as an example of what honesty and being straightforward with God looks like, asking him for his prayers.

St. Bartholomew, pray for us!