Charisa Stories

Tag: Hypocrite

  • Lord, Help Me Pray Before I Post. Amen.

    It is so unnerving that social media can make generally kind people become hateful. I have watched with sadness as people I consider friends severely denigrated people they once considered friends. Sometimes the venom is directed at those who simply have a difference of opinion on political or moral issues. And the attacks on people who claim the title of Christian have broken my heart.

    Without fail the hypocrite word is used with smug satisfaction.

    And it is true. Let me make this personal since I can only speak honestly for me. I can be a hypocrite. I do not consistently live up to the teachings of Jesus. I fail. I sin. That is why I need a Savior and not a self-help course. I am confident not in my holiness but in the holiness of Jesus. I remember hearing a pastor say that “we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But that doesn’t keep us from comparing distances.”

    That is exactly what I used to do and still do when I forget why Jesus found it necessary to die for me! I found it easy to judge those I condemned without knowing anything about that person’s wounds or struggles. I would self-righteously note that at least I haven’t said or believed something that offensive! I am not as bad as them!

    So what?

    Whether I fall a millimeter short or miles short of the glory of God is meaningless. I have fallen short. I am a desperate sinner in need of a Savior. Today I asked for the Holy Spirit to examine my heart. I am not responsible for the comments of others. I am accountable for my comments and thoughts before the One who went to the Cross to win my forgiveness.

    Many people have proclaimed that anyone who believes a certain political or cultural thing cannot be a Christian. So your beliefs are the path to salvation? Seriously? I have gone through seasons where I am now regretful for what I said or believed. God patiently changed my heart. The people you attack may be wrong but the Holy Spirit may be changing their hearts.

    May I ask you a tough question? How can you be a sincere follower of Jesus if you spew hate?

    “If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.”
    ‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭20‬-‭21‬, NLT

    There is a familiar parable from the Gospel of John. I wondered how Jesus might respond to today’s condemning cyberthugs. Here is a modern version of a well known story.

    A crowd soon gathered, and He (Jesus) sat down and taught them. As He was speaking, the teachers of politically correct opinions brought a woman who had been caught in the act of hateful speech. They put her in front of the crowd.

    “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught posting intolerance and hate speech. We say she should be fired, disgraced, and shunned. What do you say?”

    They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him, but Jesus stooped down and looked at the device in His hand. They kept demanding an answer, so He typed a message that appeared on every device in the crowd simultaneously. They read the message on their screen.  “All right, but let the one who has never unfairly judged another and who has never said an ugly untruth about another post the first judgement!” Then he looked down and typed something else.

    When the accusers read this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

    “No, Lord,” she said.

    And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Remember that every person is precious in My sight and that I loved them enough to endure the Cross. Go and sin no more.”

    Forgive me for taking liberties with such an amazing Scriptural text. But I think it brings it home for us that I (and you) are just like that mob who dragged the woman to Jesus.

    Lord Jesus,

    Forgive me for my judgement of others. Forgive me for my ugly thoughts. Forgive me for my mean comments about those you love dearly.  And thank you for still loving me in spite of the ugly reality of my own sin. I fall on your grace today. Please remind me to use these gifts of communication only to edify, encourage, and inspire.

    Thank you for loving me. Help me to love others in the power of Your Amazing Grace.

    Amen

  • Is Hypocrite The Most Damaging Word For the Church?

    Hypocrite. There is no more damaging name to lay on a church goer than the dreaded title of hypocrite. Sometimes it is used unfairly. Often it is a smokescreen used by folks who want an excuse not to examine faith in their own lives. You have heard the line I’m sure.

    “I used to go to church but it is full of hypocrites.” 

    The temptation is always to remind them there is room for one more hypocrite in the building. The more mature response as followers of Christ is to examine that charge seriously in our own lives. The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word that means actor. How appropriate. People are watching. And we too often give Oscar caliber performances on Sunday morning. They see that on Sunday you’re a saint and on Monday you ain’t. And that does damage. It is time to look in the spiritual mirror and drop the masquerades. If we are following Jesus it will make a difference in our lives. I am not talking perfection or even close to it. But there should be ongoing changes and growth in your journey with Christ. Look up synonyms for hypocrite and you will find words like fraud, phony, deceiver, fake, impostor, pretender, and sham. Not pretty words. But if you think those are rough how about the words of Jesus on this topic?

    I found sixteen times that Jesus used the word hypocrite in the New International Version of the Bible. Jesus did not pull any punches in his disgust for the “religious” types who were Sabbath saints only. We tend to read the words of Jesus that are directed at the Pharisees almost like we watch the boss chew out a co-worker. “Whew,” we exclaim, “I’m sure glad that is them and not me.” But the warnings of Jesus to the phony Pharisees are also directed at me…and you. 

    “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 
     “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.” 
     “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. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”  

    I am learning that God is not impressed by my showy words or works. He is glorified when I take care of the hurting and helpless without calling attention to myself. He blesses me when I give without expecting return. God does not want my eloquence in prayer, He wants my heart in prayer. He honors me when I serve without expectation. 

    But there is more. This passage knocks me to my knees.

    “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” 

    That is what scares me so much. I can clean up the outside real purty. But God knows what lies beneath. It is scary and painful and ugly to allow the Holy Spirit to start cleaning out the dirt, the dead bones, and everything unclean. But we will never experience God the way He desires to relate to us unless we are willing to do just that. Frankly I don’t see the point of being a Sunday Christian. If this is real we need to pursue it seven days a week. The hardest truth I have had to admit as a husband, father, follower of Jesus is that I make time for those things that are a priority to me. There can be short time diversions for work or circumstance. But over the weeks and months where I invest my time reveals my heart. That is a hard truth. 

    Elbert Hubbard once said that “many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street”. It is so easy to present a cleaned up, whitewashed persona to others. 

    Recently I ran a scan on my computer to detect any damaging effects of spyware and viruses. I would suggest that all of us get in the habit of running a “Scripture Scan” to see if the hypocrite virus has infected our heart drive. The reality is that we need to run that scan every single day. Satan is even more malicious and sneaky than the internet hackers. But the damage that the hypocrisy virus wreaks is eternal. 

    I have to confess that today’s scan found some problems in the heart drive. I think I was able to delete and quaranteen the threat for today. But only by daily scanning my heart with the grace of Jesus, the truth of God’s Word, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit can I hope to contain the hypocrisy virus. Have you run a scan recently?