On Guard Against Hypocrisy
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
Recently I was in another town and randomly stopped at a store before heading back out on the road. When browsing in that store I was recognized by someone who knew of me through a family connection. They introduced themselves and we had a good chat before I paid for my items and headed back to my suv. While on the drive home I was taken back at how easy it is to be recognized, even by people who we don’t know on sight as this isn’t the first time it’s happened to me. In this instance there was nothing nefarious at play, but I had to wonder as I was driving home, what if there was? What if I decided to throw my integrity out the window and I was up to something sinful because I thought I wouldn’t get caught by anyone who knew me? After all, I could have never expected to be recognized in that store that night. So if I was up to no good, whether it was buying something sinful, treating the clerk at the front of the store like a jerk or stealing an item from the shelf, it wouldn’t have turned out too well for me or for my Christian witness. Because this situation echoes the universal truth that just because we like to think no one is looking, doesn’t mean no one is.
Breeding Ground For Hypocrisy
Our Christian witness isn’t something we get to turn off and on like the open sign at the store. We are witnesses for Christ 24/7/365 and we can get recognized at any time in any place by people who know we claim to be Christians. If you and I decide to live like we aren't representatives for Christ, even when we think no one is looking, it is a dangerous road to go down because that is the breeding ground for creating hypocrites.
The word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word "hupokrites," which means "an actor" or "one who pretends." It is someone who acts one way when on stage before an audience and completely differently behind closed doors. It is a person who allows themselves to indulge in unrepented sin and thinks it’s okay as long as they don’t get caught.
The Problem With Hypocrisy
The problem with being a hypocrite is it always starts small, but snowballs to take over an entire life with sin the longer the person remains unexposed. The person who committed fraud usually didn’t start with misleading scores of investors, but started with a small theft or lie and then a bigger one and then more and more and more until they destroyed countless lives with their greed. The person who was cheating on their spouse usually didn’t go from a faithful spouse to an adulterer in one moment, but rather got there through a journey of one compromise after another.
Hypocrisy is a cancer that destroys lives and destroys witnesses. Hypocrisy is also a kind of lifestyle that is rebuked again and again in the Bible.
Clashing With The Pharisees
Jesus clashed with the Pharisees so often because they were the blatant hypocrites of their time. Saying one thing with their mouths and public life, but having lives filled with secret sin and hearts that were away from God. In Matthew 23 Jesus issues a warning to the Pharisees that we would do well to listen to as well. Let’s pick up at verse 25,
"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy-full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs-beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23:25-28
What Can Be Said About You & I?
Can the same be said about you and I? That outwardly we look righteous, but on the inside our hearts are filled with hypocrisy and sin? If so, it’s time to hit the brakes right here and right now and make a big change. The last thing you and I should be described as is anything other than a consistent Christian. People who live the same in both darkness and in the light, in both public and in private. If we look inward and find any inconsistency there, then this is our alarm going off moment in time because we too are on the path of hypocrisy and we need to get off of it, whatever it takes. Because let’s not forget, while we might fool others, God knows. Our inner lives are not a secret to Him and the Bible makes it very clear that one day, even what we think is hidden will be exposed to the light. That said, we all need to be on our guard against hypocricy lest it slip into our lives in any way, shape or form.
Closing off with a stark warning from Luke chapter 12, where it reads:
"Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees-their hypocrisy. The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!'" Luke 12:1-3
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