Hypocrite

When I was a lot younger, I used to hear a lot that to be a hypocrite was one of the worst things ever to be called.

Let’s be clear. By hypocrite the thinking is usually of someone who presents one face and then in another setting presents a different face, maybe the opposite. So for example, someone might appear to be a faithful and holy man, but is actually doing things that God would not approve of at all.

The way hypocrites were labelled growing up, at some points it felt like it would be better if you were a killer than a hypocrite.

It was (and is) a common accusation leveled at Christians that they were (and are) hypocrites. So it was common to do as much as possible not to reinforce those arguments. There was little worse than being a hypocrite.

In a sense I can understand the thinking. God created us to be people of integrity – what we say, what we believe and what we do should be integrated. Just as you expect an apple tree to produce apples, so you expect a person to consistently produce that which is in line with their beliefs and sayings. Anything opposed to that would suggest something wrong with the person. From something wrong with the person that affects how we engage with the person or not engage. They can no longer be trusted. They can no longer be believed.

Being a hypocrite is a big deal. It’s particularly a big deal to God because it’s not how He wanted us to be. Yet in Him seeing that, He makes a way for those who are hypocrites to be at peace with themselves. He makes a way through His Son for those who have a problem with integrity and are trapped in duplicitous living to find freedom from the hypocrisy.

I should know because I am very much aware of what it is to be a hypocrite. To present one face to the world while conducting ungodly acts behind the scenes. I know what it is to shatter relationships that were so precious to me because of the double life. I know hypocrisy well, I know what it is to be a hypocrite. I know the pride that seeks to justify the double living. I know the folly of thinking that I can handle it and everything will be alright.

Hypocrisy is obviously not an exclusive concern of Christians as political scandals and financial disasters highlight. Hypocrisy is a subtle as well as not so subtle human condition reflecting the fractured self we struggle with because of sin. The fracture in the relationship with God leads to fractures in other key relationships especially within the self. The only freedom can be found in the Man of Integrity – Jesus Christ.

For those not inclined towards hypocrisy, demonising and alienating such folks does little to nothing to affect the situation positively. Jesus wasn’t a fan of hypocrites, yet His mission in looking for and saving the lost had them just as much in mind as those with other sins.

The invitation is extended to to even hypocrites to recognise the sin and repent, believing in Jesus whose death took away the sins from the world.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden