Confessions of a Hypocrite

[Listen on AUDIO page] Nobody wants to be called a hypocrite. A hypocrite is somebody who does one thing and says another, who claims to believe one way, but acts the opposite. A politician who makes rules for others that she doesn’t follow herself is a hypocrite. A religious leader cheating on his wife would also qualify, as would the neighbor who complains about your music one day and then throws a loud party in his backyard on the weekend. Go ahead. Point your finger at any of these folks, and then turn it around and point it at yourself. I’m pretty sure you’re a hypocrite. I confess that I am, too. The problem with hypocrisy, at any level, is that it’s dishonest.

The word hypocrite comes from the ancient Greek word for “actor”. So, a hypocrite is really someone who’s acting a part, doing or saying something on the outside that doesn’t represent what’s going on inside. Don’t we all do that? Have you ever said, “I’m fine!” when you’re really not fine? Think about social media. Now, there’s a hotbed of hypocrisy. How many of us adjust the lighting, or the angles, or the filters on our posts to make ourselves look better than life? Have you ever exaggerated just a little on your online bio? What about all those intelligent-looking props we display in the background on our Zoom calls?

Hypocrisy hits at home, too. We know we should treat our spouse with love and respect, and we expect it from them, but we don’t always deliver. We lecture our kids about values, or even about making their beds every day, and then we fail to follow our own rules. We advise our friends to read their Bibles more, or spend time in prayer, or confess their sins, but we don’t pursue those disciplines ourselves. Guilty as charged.

Last Sunday, our pastor defined hypocrisy like this: if there’s a difference between what you know to be true and what you show to be true, you’re a hypocrite. Well, that sounds like pretty much everybody, in one way or another. Non-Christians may claim that the churches are filled with hypocrites, and they would be right, but that’s like the pot calling the kettle black, as my mother would say. Join the club.

In Mark 7:6, Jesus comes down pretty hard on the religious leaders of the day for being hypocritical. They had been criticizing Jesus’ followers for breaking tradition, and Jesus responded, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written,

“’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”

Unfortunately, too often our hearts are far from the Lord, too. We allow worries, selfish desires, and fear to get between us and what’s really important: loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. Of course, love like that requires power and authenticity that we can’t reach outside of Christ. We’re just not capable of it. So we try, we pretend, we fail, and we settle for hypocrisy.

What the world needs is not another group of people who say one thing and do another. What the world needs is authentic Christians who stand for the Truth of the Bible, who testify to Christ’s redeeming power through His death and Resurrection, and who aren’t ashamed to ask forgiveness when they mess up. And when someone – or even that little voice in your head – calls you a hypocrite, you just smile, and say, “Yes, but I’m a sinner saved by the Grace of God, and in His mercy I’m becoming more like Jesus every day. By the way, have you heard that you can have peace with God, too?”

Standing with you,

Carolyn

Lord, forgive me for failing to tell the truth in my words and actions. Help me to honor you not only with my lips, but in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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