Overcoming Hypocrisy

As a brief interlude between the books of Ruth and Samuel, I would like to cover a topic that has been going around like wildfire between people I am acquainted with.  That topic is hypocrisy.

What is hypocrisy?  It's when you say you believe something, but your actions don't match what you say.  I'm going to try to stay away from the political here (which is where a lot of the discussion has led in private conversations), but instead focus on the church and individual believers.

Hypocrisy comes in many flavors, but ultimately it's something we all struggle with (whether we know it or not).  As we mature in our walks with Christ, we tend to notice more and more of our own personal hypocrisies, and also in that growth we battle against them and (with Christ) we overcome them.  However, this is one of those things that you see more of (not less) after you've taken care of the first issues.  This is because the act of overcoming that first set of hypocrisies skims the filmy grime off the top of the vast lake of hypocrisies which remain underneath.  Only the living water of Christ and the Holy Spirit residing within us can wash this lake away and replenish it with clean water.

Challenge of the Day:
First, seek out hypocrisy in yourself.  Do you practice God's teachings?  Do you follow His calling?  Do you give yourself up as a servant for His people?  Do you treat all living things with love and respect?  Do your actions show that you love the Lord?  Do you lift up your neighbor in need?  Do you even notice your neighbor in need?

"He said to him, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and most important commandment.  The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.'"

Matthew 22:37-40

Second, seek out hypocrisy in your church.  Does your church worship the Lord and bring Him praise?  Does it study His Word and act according to it?  Does it pray and seek the Lord's guidance?  Does it share its members joys and sorrows?  Does it help both members and nonmembers alike in their times of need?  Does it preach the good news found in the Salvation offered by Jesus?  Does it act as the body of Christ, following His example in all that it does?

"Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it."

1 Corinthians 12:27

Third, seek to destroy these hypocrisies wherever they lie, first in yourself so that you aren't hypocritical when informing others of what they need to change.  The power of prayer and fasting (which basically equates to asking for God's will and focusing on that instead of worldly desires) can have some pretty impressive results, especially when you are diligent to follow His Word.

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, expose my sin by Your light, and wash me with Your living water so that I may be fully cleansed of all the evil ways which reside within me.  Help me to shed my worldly desires and focus on Your will for my life.  Help me to clear out my own Spirit of all iniquity so that I can help others in my family and in my church-family to do the same.  Amen.