Hypocrisy

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:17-24)

 

            Here we go, the topic the world can’t wait to discuss: the hypocrisy of religion. I mean, everyone knows that those folks who think they have a right to tell everyone else how we ought to live our lives are hypocrites, right? I mean, everyone knows that what God is all about is love, don’t they? That means that we can do whatever we want, with whom we want, whenever we want, where ever we want as long as no one else gets hurt, right – well, except pedophiles, abusers, and religious folks. And the Constitution specifically says that the government is supposed to protect us from all of those. It’s the law. How dare they try to tell us how to live our lives! They should show some love, some tolerance, some compassion, some kindness… and if they can’t do that they should just go off somewhere else and, well, die so that we can get on with saving the world and turning it into heaven.

            … do you see? Do you understand? We love to boo and hiss about the Pharisees. After all, they used the law to shame… and even to force others to do what they claimed was right even though they didn’t do those things themselves. They should have been ashamed of themselves. It’s wrong to shame, or bully…do you see? I don’t know if Glen Beck originated the saying, but I seem to recall hearing him say that hypocrisy isn’t a religious problem, it’s a human problem.

            It’s wrong to push your beliefs down our throat, but few of us think it’s wrong to push our beliefs down their throats. When the legalization of homosexual “marriage” started gaining ground we were assured that homosexuals just wanted to live free of the oppression of others, that they just wanted to be able to gain the same employment benefits as heterosexuals… it was no big thing. I objected that as soon as it became legal, it would be used to oppress others and to force them to violate their religious beliefs. I was assured that that would never happen. And when it did happen, almost immediately, those who assured me it would never happen just smiled. It was never about doing what was right, it was about forcing their view of “right” on everyone else.