The world looks at the church and isn’t too impressed by what they see. They see people who say one thing and then do the opposite. They laugh in scorn and accuse us of being hypocrites. What’s more, they are correct. We are all hypocrites, including those who stand and accuse us. Those who aren’t Christian don’t care about the label, they aren’t being held to a higher plane.
The thing is, that by being followers of Christ, we are expected, by our accusers, to be better somehow. That means better than they themselves are. That we are all hypocrites doesn’t matter. They see it in Christians as “proof” that there isn’t a God.
There have been at least three Christians I looked to for leadership who ultimately proved to be hypocrites of the highest order. For a time, I felt crushed but then I looked to God and realized that he was my leader. I had made the mistake of trusting these three individuals and looking up to them rather than to God.
Christians know that we aren’t better, just that we have already come to realization that we are sinners. We know that we have no way to dig ourselves up from the morass of our sins.
When we become Christians, in our thankfulness to Christ, we try to follow his ways. Some days we are more successful and other days we fail. It’s not that we have to always become better (much less perfect), its our efforts that Christ looks for. We are still doomed to sin because we are sinners in a fallen world. When we realize what we have done, we repent and confess those sins to God and then, with God’s help, leave that sin behind.
Sometimes, it is that easy. Other times, Christians continue to struggle. The sin may be addiction of some sort or other. It can take time to overcome it and, on the way, we may fail time and time again. The thing is that we continue to try to overcome with the help of Jesus and, over time, we can leave that sin behind.
The label hypocrite is really painful because it is undoubtable true. Each person in a church will admit it as it pertains to everyone but themselves. But, to some extent, we are all hypocrites if we say we act like Jesus. We are learning and one day, in heaven, we will completely overcome all sin.
Until then, we will probably continue to say one thing and do another. It won’t necessarily be about being Christian. It may be about work. It may be about our kids. It may be about how we spend our time or spend our money.
It is important to recognize this about yourself and correct it, especially with regards to Christianity. Otherwise, you are in danger of becoming hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t study the Bible. You should read from it everyday. It is God’s message to you about how you should act, what you should do and what you should say.
Just be careful of becoming someone who merely studies the Bible. God didn’t intend for us to store up his message just for ourselves. He wants us to share his message with the whole world.
As Christians, we know that mankind was made in the image of God. We are his special creations who bear his likeness. As Christians, we should be reflecting God to the world. That should be shown in how we act, what we say, and what we do. People should look at us and wonder why we are different from everyone else. They should want to find whatever it is that we have and have it for themselves.
If you look in a mirror, you should see God reflected back along with your own image. If you see only yourself, then it isn’t surprising that you would walk away and forget your true image – that of being a child of God, created in him image. You might want to ask yourself if you have become someone who listens and then fails to put action to what you have heard.
Jesus had a particular disdain for those of his generation who fell into the category of religious individuals who merely study and who do not put it into practice. The Pharisees were the religious group who studied the Law of Moses and yet did not put the intent of those laws into their everyday lives. The danger is in becoming “religious” where you can talk about what Jesus said and did but never try to do what he said and did yourselves.
James 1:22-25
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.