Pretenders are people who play a part, fake an interest, and deceive others in some way to get what they want. They are master manipulators, working angles to gain someone’s confidence so that they achieve some advantage or accomplish some personal goal.

For some folks, this phony way of relating to others becomes their modus operandi. They end up living a lie. Pretenders only know one kind of love. They are addicted to self-love. They are expert self-promoters.

The Bible reminds us that lying and love don’t go together. Real love, the God-kind of love, “rejoices with the truth” (See 1 Corinthians 13: 6). The God-kind of love doesn’t hide agendas, live in a secret world, do damaging things or say destructive things behind another person’s back.

Real love is sincere, honest, and without hypocrisy. It’s founded on trust, authenticity and integrity. And it works hard not to break trust. It doesn’t promise what it will not deliver, and it delivers what it promises. It doesn’t work angles or manipulate emotions for personal gain. God’s love is truthful!