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| October 2010 |
| Billie Silvey |
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| Hypocrisy |
| Are you a hypocrite? Am I? Knowing a hypocrite when we see one is much easier than recognizing hypocrisy in ourselves. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek hypokrisis, which means play-acting, or acting out, or dissembling. A hypocrite wears a mask, pretending to be something she is not. A hypocrite may pretend to virtues, morals, religious beliefs or principles she does not actually possess. If we pretend often enough, we may begin to fool ourselves. A hypocrite is a person whose actions belie her stated beliefs, who feigns a desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially when her private life, opinions or statements belie her public statements. It’s the politician who rails against homosexuality and is found to be homosexual. Scripture teaches against hypocrisy. Jesus pointed out the following characteristics of hypocrisy: 1. The hypocrite is hyper-critical of other people, trusting in her privileges or burdening others with rules she doesn’t follow, she is willfully blind to her own faults while being judgmental and censorious of others. Jesus condemns the person with a beam in her own eye who is obsessed with getting a speck out of her neighbor’s eye (Matthew 7:5). 2. The hypocrite lacks integrity as a person. Her outer actions don’t correspond with her inner motives. There’s an inconsistency between her external religious activity and her heart. Jesus compares the hypocrite with the person who washes the outside of a cup while leaving the inside filthy or whitewashes a tomb that houses corruption and decay (Matthew 23:25-39). 3. The hypocrite does good for selfish motives. She always considers a situation from the standpoint of what she can get from it. She’s self-righteous and ostentatious in her good deeds. Jesus talked about the person who claims to be doing good, but does it for selfish reasons. (Matthew 6:1-5). 4. The hypocrite is not sincere. She’s two-faced, acting pious and worshipping God without love or mercy. She practices injustice and oppression while professing godliness. She talks a good line, but fails to practice it. She regards tradition more than the word of God, having the form of godliness without the reality. (Hosea 6:6) . 5. The hypocrite majors in minors. She is exacting in the little details of Christian living while neglecting the important ones (Matthew 23:23). The fact that we are Christians doesn’t mean that we always behave in a Christlike manner. Our churches breed hypocrisy in two different ways: First, we fail to acknowledge our own weaknesses. And second, we are so insistent on proper behavior that we fail to accept the people who come to us for who they are. We should, rather, encourage contrite honesty, The antidote to hypocrisy is humility, recognizing our faults and being sincerely penitent, and confession, acknowledging them to God and to other people. When we recognize our own weaknesses, we’ll be more patient with the weaknesses of others. |