Welcome to part two of the True Believer Series. We will be dealing with hypocrisy in this part. Since time immemorial, hypocrisy has had it’s place in the kingdom of Christ.  Jesus had warned of the effects of hypocrisy. In various parts of the Bible in the New Testament, hypocrites had been condemned for being the imposters in the kingdom of God. Let us see in further why God condemns them in the Bible.

What is Hypocrisy?

“Hypocrisy is the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs.” – Wikipedia

Hypocrisy is the act where we appeal to the external self than to the internal self. Our external self is where we appeal to the nature of the world and the internal self is where the mind is. The mind knows the true nature of God but is unwilling to submit itself which is why people conform to the external self. Like the definition says, a hypocrite actually conceals who he or she is and act accordingly to appeal the social environment. When Samuel chose David to be ruler over Israel, the Lord said

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” –          1 Samuel 16:7

The Pharisees lifted their tongue in each and every occasion, when Jesus went to the synagogues and when he was amongst the crowds. Every time, the questions they asked which they thought were trickier to answer were even more trickier to give the answer to by them. Such people with sluggish mindsets were condemned. Neither their acts of benevolent acts nor their praises would be accepted in the kingdom of heaven.

The Church bears the burden of hypocrisy in the present era which is seen like never before. A lot more people have joined the league as soon as they are in the blessed category, flaunting their riches in the face of the poor. The kind of benevolent acts they display matter the least in the kingdom of God. I am reminded of a story in the Bible that shows how least hypocrites mattered when Jesus was at a temple –

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” – Mark 12:41-44

We infer from above that the widow put her heart and soul while giving the offering she had. She gave all she had for the kingdom and she would never be judged by how much she gave. It was her WILL to give that mattered the most.

The author of Prayer, Philip Yancey, describes in his book about humility as trait that we should admire. He writes

“Jesus’ story of the Pharisee and the tax collector draws a sharp contrast between a prayer of pious superiority, which God rejects, and a prayer of desperation – ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner’ – which God welcomes. Jesus drew the conclusion to his story: ‘For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ 

He further writes

In Henry Nouwen’s words, “To pray is to walk in the full light of God, and to say simply without holding back, “I am human and you are God.” At that moment, conversion occurs, restoration of the true relationship. 

Claiming to be superior in spiritual life and seeing less of others will only block our progress in attaining the kingdom. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble – James 4:6. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day – Isaiah 2:11.

The above two verses indicate how God sees the proud and how He looks at the humble. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. – Psalms 53:2. To please God is never difficult. I can still please him even now. But the intention matters the most. That is the trickiest part. God doesn’t look at the prayer. He looks at the person who prays. If it is found satisfactory, it is accepted. It is just as it is described in Genesis 1. When Abel gave sacrifices to the Lord, He was pleased. When Cain tried to please the Lord, He was never pleased.

Three points to note from the above paragraphs:

1. Unconditional Will: God looks at the heart. Period. A will to offer to the Lord must be unconditional. No double minded offering can be accepted in God’s kingdom. That is the rule till eternity.
2. Never claim to be superior: God humbles those who humble themselves. He has a day for the proud and the lofty. Everyone is equal before God. All these are the words of the Bible echoing. 
3. Be the role model: Paul says to imitate Christ. We think it is too difficult because we can’t change the way we are. If we are able to succeed, then it will be one that will be followed by many.

THE NARROW door – how it applies here

The following excerpt is from Luke 13:22 –

“Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!”

When we think it is too easy to live by simply saying Hallelujah, the above excerpt shows it’s not. If we thought there weren’t going to be any troubles at all, we may have to think again. I remember this sentence being said by someone –

“If you lived a life without any difficulties at all, then you have to rethink the kind of life that you are living.”

Jesus never said that we will never face difficulties. He did say that he will give us the grace to overcome it. Living a life less worthy before God is a life not lived at all.

As we conclude this topic here, I would like to say that as a person my sole intentions in writing this topic would be the result of what I kept seeing for the past 20 years. It is time that we see that these evils

As a growing Christian, my opinions have always been unbiased. This article has never been intended on harming anyone’s feelings. We duly apologize if we have hurt anyone’s sentiments here.

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God bless