How often do you hear that word thrown around? Maybe there are Christians you know who have been offended by the hypocrisy of other believers. Maybe there are friends and family members who have distanced themselves from God due to the hypocrisy they see in the church. Maybe there are strangers that are reluctant to believe in Jesus Christ due to what they perceive as hypocrisy of the faith. I have heard this word a lot lately. It makes me sad that we as believers allow ourselves to be hypocrites in a world that is looking for answers and struggling with their eternal destination.
Hypocrisy is defined as "the false assumption of an appearance." Interstingly enough, when you look at the original greek, it is the "act of playing a part on the stage." Another definition from the greek is a "pretender." What a great illustration for us! In simple terms, it's faking it - acting a certain way or playing a part because it's what we're supposed to do.
In Matthew 7:5 and again in Luke 6:42, Jesus gives us this harsh rebuke. "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
How many of the problems caused by hypocrisy would be resolved if we followed His Word? I had a communication professor in college who taught me a principle that has stuck with me to this day. In any communication breakdown, 51% of the responsibility rests with yourself. In other words, there is always something you could have done differently to change the situation. Sounds like a biblical principle to me! If we truly remove the plank from our eye (51%) instead of focusing on the speck (49%) in other people's eyes, we might reach a resolution much quicker.
I admit that I'm a slow learner. In hindsight, I wonder how many times, God will have to teach me the same lesson over and over. And then.....I'm reminded of the Israelites and their journey out of Egypt. God parts the Red Sea and they want to complain about being abandoned. God lets Moses see His glory and they build idols. God gives them manna and they want steak. God provided in every way for them and they don't want to go fight the "giants" in their promised land. Don't we do the same thing? Think about it. I know for myself, I want to remove the times of pretending from my life and replace them with times of complete reliance on Him. What about you?
