Hypocrisy

7-10-2009

I know many individuals who won’t go to church because they feel many of the “active church goers” are hypocrites. It’s unfortunate that people allow something outside of their control to affect their communal worship within a church setting. Christ calls us to community, and calling others hypocrites doesn’t make it right to skip church. People are people, and we are born into this earth with a sinful nature. We will never be able to change this fact. What we are called to do is show God’s love to all people. To know Christ, yet not go to church because you feel the church is full of hypocrites is being hypocritical.

A hypocrite describes someone who does something for the way it makes them look versus doing something with good motives. Hypocrite can also be defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion; a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. In Matthew 6:2-4 it says, “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” God wants us to do things with pure motives. We are called to serve others without expecting anything in return.

We aren’t called to do things for our personal attention or recognition. We are to give God all of the glory in all we do. It’s easy to do things when you know you are going to be recognized, but that honors YOU. It glorifies Christ to do things for the sole purpose of serving and/or bringing Christ glory. I’ve always been amazed at the power of recognition. I’ve witnessed people spend thousands of dollars for the sole purpose of being recognized. They didn’t spend the money for a good cause. They simply wanted to stand on stage in front of a group and be given credit. If you truly understand our role on earth as a Christ follower, you will learn how shallow personal recognition is. In fact, individuals who always need to be recognized generally have a lack of self-confidence and struggle with insecurities. Don’t misunderstand me, being recognized for doing something well is deserved. We all want to feel appreciated for doing a job well done. The key application we need to grasp in Matthew 6 is the eternal reward for having pure motives in all we do. Christ wants a selfless person. He was a selfless person. Let’s take out all hypocrisy in our lives, and live to serve our maker!

Application:
1. Read Matthew 6:1-4
2. Evaluate what you do, and ask yourself why you do it?
3. If you feel the need to be recognized, why do you feel this way? (Underappreciated, insecure, etc.?)