• Weeding Out Hypocrisy

    By: Kristen L. McNulty

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

    About a month ago I found out my car was near the end of its life. Since then I can't tell you how many people expressed disbelief when I told them. And I get it. Thanks to the previous owners and some help and my hard work, the body of the car is in pristine condition. It looks more like a 2014 model than the 2004 model that it is. There's no visible rust, dents or wear and tear. Well, at least there isn't on the outside. The inside, the part you can't see, is a completely different story. If you got down on your hands and knees and stuck your head underneath the car you would see rust, rot and a vehicle that looks every bit the 17 years it is. The outside appearance is quite deceiving. I wonder if the same could be said of you or I?

    Defining Hypocrisy


    There is a term for when we as humans look like one thing on the outside and another on the inside: hypocrisy. The Miriam Webster dictionary defines hypocrisy as: “behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel.” In other words, hypocrisy is those of us who talk the talk but don't walk the walk or we talk the talk and walk the walk but only where there is a crowd. Behind closed doors, we're different people entirely.

    Jesus addressed this kind of behaviour with the Pharisees. The group who on paper seemed to be the most righteous, Jesus didn't let off the hook as He saw past their actions and into their hearts. We pick up His comments in Matthew 23 where it reads:

    "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 23:27-28


    Asking The Hard Questions


    I don't think this instance was only recorded in scripture to point a finger at the Pharisees. No, I think it was included because it points a finger at you and me. Reading those words we need to ask ourselves some hard questions. Like does the inside of our hearts match the fancy outside we portray to the world? Are we consistently living out what we say we believe? And are we so busy pointing fingers at others that we excuse or ignore our own behaviour?

    We might be able to fool others, God can't be fooled on this and He is the only one whose opinion matters. As believers He's not looking for us to give a few touch ups or a coat of paint to the outside, He wants an entire transformation from the inside out. After all, a true sign of character as a Christian is when the inside matches the outside. Being two-faced has no place in the lives of any believer.

    A Hypocrisy Test


    So what's a test we can give ourselves to see if we are living a hypocrisy free life of faith? Try this. Think back on the last month of your life and ask yourself is there anything you did in private that you would not want to be shown in public? Were there words said, actions taken or sins partaken that you would be embarrassed for anyone else to see? Most of us would probably say yes to that question, but let's take it one step further because we all are capable of making mistakes. Let's say you got two incidents out of the month scrubbed from the record, would you still be embarrassed about all the incidents of sin still remaining that would be shown? If the answer to that question is yes, take this moment as an opportunity to do some real soul searching and spend time in real talk between you and God and pursue real repentance. While we still live on this earth, we will sin, but there is a huge difference between a stumble and a lifestyle of saying with our mouths all the right things, while living in a cycle of repetitive sin with no repentance. We can fool others with what we portray on the outside, but there is no fooling God. He knows and He is the audience of one whose opinion truly matters. There is no hiding from Him, even if you appear to "get away" with it now, the day is coming when your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23).

    Closing with a warning from Jesus as recorded in Luke 12:

    "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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