Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’: and look a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will clearly see to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:4-5 HCSB
An excuse I have heard many times when I’ve invited people to church is, “There’s just a bunch of hypocrites there.” My former pastor used to respond with, “Yes, and there is always room for one more.” I’ve also heard it said, “I’d rather sit in the church with a few hypocrites than go to hell with all of them.”
When we call someone else a hypocrite, we ourselves are being hypocritical. Jesus points this out in our Scripture passage for today. It’s one thing to be called a hypocrite by others, but Jesus is calling these people out. Warren Weirsbe asks in his Bible commentary, “How do we avoid being called a hypocrite by the Lord?” We are all hypocrites at some point.
When we get saved, of course, we want everyone else to be saved as well. But we are quick to point out the flaws in others. These may be flaws we just overcame or those we are still struggling with, but they stand out when we see them in others. We tend to be blinded by those we harbor in our secret lives.
Warren Weirsbe says this is the first step to overcoming hypocrisy-being honest with God in our secret lives. It’s important to understand that we keep no secrets from God. He sees all we do, hears all we say, and even knows our thoughts. He knows when we are sincere, so lying to Him won’t work.
We should never pray for anything we don’t truly mean. In his study on the book of Numbers entitled Be Counted, he talked about the Nazirite vow. He said it is a dangerous thing not to keep a promise made to God. Our prayers should be sincere and from the heart. Otherwise, they are merely empty words.
Our motive should always be to please God, no matter what. It shouldn’t matter what other people think or say, or do. Weirsbe says we must be truthful in the secret places of our hearts.
When we fall into hypocrisy, we suffer. Weirsbe says it robs us of the reality of Christian living. He said we substitute reputation for character, mere words for true prayer, and money for the devotion of the heart.
Our hypocrisy also robs us of character and spiritual rewards. We forfeit God’s approval for the shallow praise of mere mortals. We pray, but we receive no answers. We are told in Isaiah 59:2 that our sin creates a barrier between us and God, and he cannot hear our prayers. Our spiritual life becomes hollow. It becomes lifeless and bears no fruit. It is just like that vine that has become disconnected that John talks about in John 15:10, it withers and is thrown into the fire.
We miss God’s blessing here on earth, and we lose our reward in heaven.
And sadly, it destroys our witness. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” When we truly love the Lord and seek to please Him, it brings us peace and joy. There is no room for negativity in our lives. The devil wants to kill your soul, he wants to steal your peace and joy, and he wants to destroy your witness. Hypocrisy is a good start.
It’s so easy to focus on the negative in people. It’s easy to see their faults and not see any of their goodness.
Aren’t you glad God isn’t that way with us? Pray Psalm 139:23-24 and ask God to search your heart, test you, and find your anxious thoughts.
Maybe we should spend less time focusing on the faults of others and look at what we need to improve in our own lives. This is a good start to overcoming hypocrisy. Follow that up by asking for God’s help.
Trust in God and seek His approval. Don’t worry about what people think about you. He’s the one who will judge you and determine if you spend eternity in heaven or hell. Think about that as you go through the day.
Have a great day!