And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be
seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close
the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees
what is done in secret, will reward you.
(Matthew 5:5-6)
“I want nothing to do with the church, it’s full of hypocrites.”
“Mother Theresa went to church”
“Then Mother Theresa was a hypocrite.”
I suspect there are people who would make this claim. I’m just using it as an example of how ridiculous the charges of hypocrisy can be. The reality is a little different. Humanity is fallen and sinful, and among those sins is hypocrisy. You are a human. Therefore, you are fallen and sinful, and hypocrisy is one of the sins of which you might be guilty. There are other possibilities, but hypocrisy seems to be the favorite charge.
Yes, people who go to church can be hypocrites (in part) because they judge others for doing the same things they do, or for things that aren’t even as bad as they do. They can also be called hypocrites because the agree with what the Scripture says, and the Scripture judges. Not long ago, someone on Face Book said something about other being being nicer than I am. I didn’t tell her that I fully agree that there are lots of people who are nicer than I am. I have a personality that no more than ten percent of the population has, so the way I figure it, at least ninety percent of the population is nicer than I am. My comment to her had to do with her judging me. Her response was that she wasn’t judging me, she’d just read what I had written. I pointed out that she had also drawn a negative conclusion about me… hence, she had judged me.
So, people inside the Church are hypocrites because they judge. What does that say of people outside the Church who proclaim judging to be wrong, but judge those in the Church? What does it say of them when they claim they aren’t judging? I say it says they’re either lying or mistaken.
But what it is that Jesus proclaims that hypocrites do? They pray out loud, in public, to impress others. Secularists would say that Scripture support their view that religion has no place in the public square. That’s not what Jesus says. His point is that hypocrites pray in public in order to be observed praying. Gay folks don’t cease to be gay if they are “in the closet.” Neither do pray-ers cease to pray. Even praying out loud in a public place is not against Jesus’ rules, as long as one is not praying out loud merely to be praised as being spiritual.
Would it not be equally hypocritical to refuse to pray in public, or to condemn those who do, on the grounds that we are more spiritual than those hypocrites?
“I want nothing to do with the church, it’s full of hypocrites.”
“Mother Theresa went to church”
“Then Mother Theresa was a hypocrite.”
I suspect there are people who would make this claim. I’m just using it as an example of how ridiculous the charges of hypocrisy can be. The reality is a little different. Humanity is fallen and sinful, and among those sins is hypocrisy. You are a human. Therefore, you are fallen and sinful, and hypocrisy is one of the sins of which you might be guilty. There are other possibilities, but hypocrisy seems to be the favorite charge.
Yes, people who go to church can be hypocrites (in part) because they judge others for doing the same things they do, or for things that aren’t even as bad as they do. They can also be called hypocrites because the agree with what the Scripture says, and the Scripture judges. Not long ago, someone on Face Book said something about other being being nicer than I am. I didn’t tell her that I fully agree that there are lots of people who are nicer than I am. I have a personality that no more than ten percent of the population has, so the way I figure it, at least ninety percent of the population is nicer than I am. My comment to her had to do with her judging me. Her response was that she wasn’t judging me, she’d just read what I had written. I pointed out that she had also drawn a negative conclusion about me… hence, she had judged me.
So, people inside the Church are hypocrites because they judge. What does that say of people outside the Church who proclaim judging to be wrong, but judge those in the Church? What does it say of them when they claim they aren’t judging? I say it says they’re either lying or mistaken.
But what it is that Jesus proclaims that hypocrites do? They pray out loud, in public, to impress others. Secularists would say that Scripture support their view that religion has no place in the public square. That’s not what Jesus says. His point is that hypocrites pray in public in order to be observed praying. Gay folks don’t cease to be gay if they are “in the closet.” Neither do pray-ers cease to pray. Even praying out loud in a public place is not against Jesus’ rules, as long as one is not praying out loud merely to be praised as being spiritual.
Would it not be equally hypocritical to refuse to pray in public, or to condemn those who do, on the grounds that we are more spiritual than those hypocrites?
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