Luke 18: 9-14
“I
never come to church anymore," boasted a member of the church when the
pastor encountered him at the local mall, "Perhaps you have noticed that,
pastor?"
"Yes, I have noticed that," said the pastor.
"Yes, I have noticed that," said the pastor.
"Well,
the reason I don't go is because there are so many hypocrites there."
"Oh, don't let that keep you away," replied the pastor with a smile.
"There's always room for one more.”
A
Minister was walking down the street when he came upon a group of boys, all of
them between 10 and 12 years of age. The group had surrounded a dog. Concerned that
the boys were hurting the dog, he went over and asked "What are you doing
with that dog?"
One
of the boys replied, "This dog is an old neighborhood stray. We all want
him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whichever one
of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."
Of course, the minister was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the minister was beginning to think he’d gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, “All right, give him the dog.”
Of course, the minister was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying, beginning, "Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as the minister was beginning to think he’d gotten through to them, the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, “All right, give him the dog.”
The
ultimate hypocrite joke: "My boyfriend is
such a cheat and a liar!" Sue shouted. "I’ve been going with the guy
for nearly a year now and not once did he mention that he’s married."
LUKE
18: 9-14: He
also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I
thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even
like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up
to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a
sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than
the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble
themselves will be exalted.”
Webster’s Dictionary defines “hypocrite” this way: first; a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion,
and/or second; a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs
or feelings.
It can be a noun or a verb, you can be a
hypocrite or you can act hypocritical. The word we use in scripture comes from
the Greek word hypo-kritēs and the Jewish word chaneph (kha-naf). It is used 16 times in scripture,
13 times in the old Testament and 3 times in the New if you are using the NKJV.
We
all know what a hypocrite is and would never want to be caught being one, would
we? But what if I told you that just as we are all guilty of telling “white
lies,” we can’t avoid finding some element of hypocrisy in our lives either.
Hypocrisy
seems to have its roots in our desire to be something or someone other than we
are, or to pretend to believe or do things we really don’t want to do. Most of
the time people pretend to do or say things to get or convince others to do
things or in the case of employment to get raises and such.
Politicians
and lawyers are well known for supposed hypocritical behavior. Yet why do we
constantly elect lawyers that are politicians to office and expect good
results?
We
know that the Apostle Paul accused Peter of being a hypocrite in Galatians 2: 11-14.
Listen to the story:
When Cephas came
to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before
certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.
But when they
arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because
he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.The other Jews
joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led
astray.
When I saw that
they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in
front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a
Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
So
even the strongest Christian has a little hypocrisy in him.
There
are even times we encourage it: Ambrose Pierce once said, “Politeness is the most acceptable hypocrisy.” Noel Coward wrote “It's discouraging to think
how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”
There
are times politeness requires we be just a little hypocritical. None of us wants be judged as we are, but
rather as we chose to tell others who we are. William F. Buckley once said, “I
won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you
just said.”
We are even amused by the concept of
hypocrisy. Think of Mr. Whipple in the Charmin commercials.
He spends half a minute warning women not to squeeze the Charmin. Then later
on, he is seen squeezing the Charmin himself.
If hypocrisy is so natural for humanity
why does Jesus make it a big deal? George Bernard Shaw said, “Where there is
no religion, hypocrisy becomes good taste.”
Christianity
is an ethics based religion that requires an expectation of honesty, trust, and
faith that it’s adherent, that’s you, gets from God. And God is perfection.
Only through God’s Grace can we be free of hypocrisy.
Yet
it remains perhaps the number one stumbling block for the church and Jesus knew
this.
You’ve heard the “Challenge:” “Hey,
I would never be a Christian. I mean, look at all the hypocrites in the Church!”
The Answer: “Well, we'd be glad to
move over—there's always room for one more. And furthermore, if you ever find
the perfect church, please don't join it. You'd spoil it.”
Does that response strike you as a
being a bit too smart-alecky? Perhaps so, but before you totally discount it,
consider the point that is being made.
Is this not a case of the pot
calling the kettle black? Are not four fingers pointing back at you as you
point at the Church?
Are you not a bit like the father
who once screamed at his teenage son: “Kid, if I've told you once, I've told
you a million times—don't exaggerate!”
“You're right. There is far too much
hypocrisy in the Church. And there always has been. But it's certainly not
being condoned, and we’re earnestly trying to stop.”
We are all sinners and Jesus offers
us the same grace His sacrifices have bought.
It is up to us to live up to His
Grace. We know it’s hard enough to overcome our natural instincts for
hypocritical behavior. We must learn to question and monitor ourselves for any
behaviors that may impact our Christian Witness.
At a recent annual meeting of the American Heart
Association in Atlanta, three hundred thousand doctors, nurses, and researchers
came together to discuss, among other things, the importance a low-fat diet
plays in keeping hearts healthy.
Yet during mealtimes, they ate fat-filled fast food, including
bacon cheeseburgers and French fries, at a higher rate than people from other
conventions. When one cardiologist was asked whether or not his eating high-fat
meals set a bad example, he replied, “Not me; I took my name tag off.”
Friends we can’t as Christians, ever take our name-tags
off. Amen.
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