Hello, I'm a Hypocrite

Read Luke 12:1-34.


Hello, my name is Dennis, and I'm a hypocrite.

I hope I'm a recovering hypocrite, and that I'm better than I was when I started this journey with Jesus so many years ago, but if I'm honest, I know I still am a hypocrite. I possess that quality Jesus told us to watch out for (12:1).

The word Jesus uses describes an actor—someone who takes on a role, someone who lives out or speaks a "false part." In ancient times, actors would use masks to indicate that they were do so; they hid their real face and took on a new persona. Actors know they are playing a role; they know that the role they are portraying is not who they are and by the mask they let the audience know that they know. We, however, even hide that we are hiding because we want others to believe that the mask they see is the real us.

For some, acting is a profession. It's a job. They get paid for pretending to be someone else—several someone elses over the course of a career. What compensation or reward do I get for being a hypocrite?

Others will think better of me? Perhaps.

No one gets to know the real me? That is a "benefit" that cuts two ways.

People don't see my flaws?

Except they do. Jesus is quite clear: everything that is hidden will come out in the end. The truth always wins and the light always prevails. Jesus is also quite clear that being a hypocrite is incompatible with being his disciple. He wants his followers to be honest, to be who God has made us to be, to strive always toward holiness but to recognize that we have not yet arrived.

Are you broken? Do you have flaws? Have you made mistakes? It's all right—Jesus can deal with those things. Anything hidden cannot be healed, but everything brought into the open has the possibility of not only being healed but of bringing healing to others. Your brokenness and failures might be a gift to someone else who is struggling to believe that God can love them as well.

Hello, my name is Dennis, and I'm a hypocrite, but by the grace of God, I'm growing more into "me" every day.

Comments

  1. Okay so we have more hypocrite like me but renew in Christ..isaiah

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts