The Church Meeting in Jesus’ Name
602 Oak Knoll Dr.
San Antonio, TX78228
Epistle
July 2011
Event Calendar
July 6 Bro. Jack Patterson,
Reclamation Ranch
July 17 – 24 World Evangelism Conference
Sundays at 10 am, every night at 7 pm, and daily open meetings at 10:30 am, ending Sunday 24th with the morning meeting. With missionaries sent from this church:
Mike and Susan Jackson (from Pachuca, Mexico)
Joe and Debbie West (from Torun, Poland)
Jon and Karen Castillo (from Puebla, Mexico)
Marco and Kelli Chaires (from Pachuca, Mexico)
Joshua West (from Lodz, Poland)
Stephen and Ari Kincaid (from Puebla, Mexico)
October 9 pm Bro. Gerald Sutek,
Swat Team for Christ
October 21, 22 Men’s meeting
November 27 Thanksgiving meeting
Dinner on the grounds
The Leaven of the Pharisees
1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12)
Christ says, “beware” as if to say that hypocrisy is, among other undesirable things, especially so. There must be some special danger in it, perhaps not immediately apparent. The warning is that the truth will out, one way or the other, so at the least there is the danger of being shamed in a public setting. And by comparing hypocrisy to leaven Jesus implied the danger of increase, of contagion, and so on. But hypocrisy is just pretense. The word comes from Greek stems meaning the “lessening of discernment,” a voluntary reduction in critical thinking. So it is the suspension of disbelief, much like children’s make-believe. It simply means to play a part, to act, to appear to be what one is not. And as child’s play surely it is harmless. Drama and theater don’t seem especially evil, and in literature fiction seems benign. Why, then, must we beware of religious hypocrisy?
Hypocrisy in religion is comparable to fraud in business and perjury in law. It is fiction where truth is imperative. A child may pretend to be a monster harmlessly, for truth may be profitably suspended for an exercise in hypotheticals. Innovative thinking requires a healthy imagination. But where fiction’s motive is to take advantage of others it isn’t harmless. Witnesses take oaths in court to warn them that any creativity in their testimony will be prosecuted. If your testimony places another in danger of losing life, liberty or property, you must put your own life, liberty and property on the line to be taken seriously. By the same token, when a priest or minister poses as something he is not, to gain some advantage he otherwise would not have or deserve, whether the advantage desired is so high-minded as social influence, or so low-minded as hard cash in the form of donations, hypocrisy becomes immoral and even criminal. Nevertheless this, while perfectly true, is not Christ’s point.
Of course religious hypocrisy is dangerous to the unsuspecting, what with charlatans in long robes devouring widow’s houses by long prayers, and such. But Jesus is not warning us to beware of hypocrisy in Pharisees for fear of some harm they may do us. The hypocrisy to beware is your own. Christ’s concern is not your property but your soul. But why? Well, for one, hypocrisy is disgusting. Phony friendliness in salesmen is irritating. Posturing among politicians is despicable. But hypocrisy in religion is nauseating. Positive thinking, feigned love and “warm fuzzies” are standard in most churches. Such obsessive avoidance of reality in our day is nothing but hypocrisy, and it isn’t just sickening to the sincere and realistic, it is revolting to God. In fact, hypocrisy in church is an abiding contempt for God, because toward God pretense is a complete waste of time. To state the obvious, only someone with no real faith in God pretends faith in God.
Personal hypocrisy is also distracting. The event that prompted Christ to bring it up in the first place was a Pharisee noticing he didn’t wash himself ritually before eating (Luke 11:38). Emphasizing appearances, or the outward, causes people to overlook the inward. We become satisfied with the appearance of a thing and therefore neglect the getting of it. Yet the heart is what matters. Appearances have value only when the heart is true, so any stress on the appearance is not only misdirection, it is confusion, like age without wisdom, or beauty without kindness.
22 As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. (Proverbs 11)
But what’s more, personal hypocrisy is self-defeating. It’s true that many hypocrites consciously despise what they claim to love for ulterior motives, and gain something by it, however paltry. But personal hypocrisy is inherently counterproductive. It seems striving for a good impression makes a person settle for a poor reality. Hypocrisy is the ultimate oxymoron. What you honor by craving you disdain by presuming. When you make a pretense of sympathy because you recognize its value you are really dismissing the person as unworthy of the effort and harden your own heart in the process. If you value something as an objective it makes little sense to diminish its value in your own eyes by falsifying it, and even less to disable yourself from ever achieving it.
So beware of hypocrisy in your own heart. But how? First, understand it. Personal hypocrisy is motivated by pride and shame. Pride because of vain-glory, a desire for undeserved praise and influence. But shame because we fear the light. We avoid reality, truth and heartfelt repentance because we assume our self-esteem depends upon the opinion of others, and that theirs depends upon ours. Real self-esteem, however, does not depend even upon our own opinion of ourselves. True self-esteem depends upon the opinion of God. Value the opinion of God, and hypocrisy loses its appeal.
Second, undermine it. Be truthful, to others and to self. Allow others to know your weaknesses, which will open the door for you to be honest with them about theirs. Develop the kind of fellowship that allows you to be you and others to be open. The Lord’s brother made a point about confessing faults one to another. This isn’t just to cause humility by confessing your own faults, but a steady exercise in being truthful, which must include honesty about others’ faults. It is actually easier to confess one’s own faults than to point out the obvious to another. But hypocrisy is found where either is avoided. And of course, and most importantly, confess your reality to God. Be verbally open with him. I mean, say it to him. And don’t hold back. It’s not like he’s going to be surprised. It’s amazing what active honesty with God does for the soul.
And finally, undo it. What you have pretended, stop pretending, whether kindness or strength, whether faith or emotion, whether knowledge or charity. Where you have made a false show, dismantle the props. And when you feel the desire to play a role, dust off the truth and own it. And better yet, what you desire to appear, be. If you have wanted others to think you pray, don’t settle for telling them the sorry truth, pray. Pray in secret and make sure others never know. Keep some precious things exclusively between you and God. And if you have craved an honor that another deserves, give that honor to the other in all sincerity. And one more thing. Never use the fear of hypocrisy as an excuse to refuse praise to God. Praise to God and even to others is an excellent tool to undo hypocrisy in yourself. By definition it is never hypocrisy to tell the truth. False displays of emotion may be hypocrisy, but God truly deserves honor, therefore it is never hypocrisy to praise God, even when a hypocrite does it.
You can be sure that Christ’s warning about hypocrisy is not to eliminate false-hearted praise, as if God gets plenty of the real thing, nor even to humble the uptight Pharisee, but to grant you a measure of peace in life that only comes with simplicity. By warning you about personal hypocrisy Jesus is setting you up for steadfast friendships, a healthier mind, a more meaningful life, and a better showing at the judgment.