Hypocrite? Not Me!
God, thank you that I am not like other men.
Luke 18:11
Set free from the ravages of drug addiction, Jamaal had been out of prison for two years. He had re-surrendered his life to Christ, and his rebellion was over. He’d made a complete turnaround, his life becoming a positive influence on those around him. But recently his wife had observed another tempter enter her husband’s life: the spirit of judgment!
He seemed able, and willing, to spot every small offense in others. It was as if Jamaal noticed things at the seed stage, and felt compelled to ‘set things straight’, as he put it, ‘before they got out of control’. No one could offend God without Jamal becoming aware of it.
For six months, Jamaal intervened for the Lord, keeping score of every transgression, remarking to his wife about other’s shortcomings. One day his wife felt led to call him on his righteous behavior, saying, “When did you become the Holy Spirit, Jamaal?”
It took a few days for it to sink in, but Jamaal realized his actions were judgmental at best … hypocritical at worst. Repentant for his hypocritical spirit, Jamaal asked God to remove his eyes of judgment, and replace them with eyes of love.
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Quoting Oswald Chambers, “The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual.” As Christians we can quickly qualify as Spiritual Supreme Court Justices if our hearts aren’t constantly surrendered to the One True Judge. It’s so easy to watch others make mistake after mistake, thinking that we, like the Pharisee in today’s text, are above such things.
The world loves to call us hypocrites. And sadly, many times they’re right. We don’t do as we say or should. Hypocrisy is not only saying one thing while doing another; it can also be veiled behind self-righteous arrogance, undetectable to the one being hypocritical. Chambers also said, “ … in the spiritual domain nothing is accomplished by criticism.”
What we look for we will find. Hopefully, we are looking for Jesus in those around us.
Prayer
“Forgive me when I get off track, Lord. I sometimes don’t even recognize when it’s happening. Help me always look for the good in others. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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