January/February 2003
Let's Hear it For Hypocrisy!
by Steve Brown
| People only get better when they are honest with themselves and others, and when they know that God still loves them even when they aren't good. |
I've been wondering why those who are among the most legalistic and condemning people I know are often -- if you dig deep enough-the greatest sinners. And not only that, sometimes their sins are exactly the ones they condemn in others. I wondered if it was pure hypocrisy or something else.
(Just so you know, I included myself in my "wondering." There are those areas in my life where the grace I teach isn't very clear in the thoughts that I have. I'm not going to give you a confession herebut I did want you to know that Jesus just told me that I couldn't say what I'm going to say in this article unless I included myself. So, there. I've said it.)
I've decided that, while there may be outright hypocrisy, there is something else going on... actually, three things could be going on.
First, those who preach it and teach it to others and don't live it themselves are perhaps giving the highest compliment one can give to the truth of moral perfection. Hypocrisy is sometimes, I think, that kind of compliment.
I may, for instance, preach against anger, make people feel guilty because of their anger and pretend in public that I'm not angry. I am a hypocrite, of course, but there is a sense in which I at least know that anger can be quite sinful because God says so.
There is a sort of redeeming value in that kind of hypocrisy. It's sinful, but it isn't the most sinful sin.
There is another kind of sin that is far worse. It is the sin of sinning without caring, whether or not what one does is sin, never trying to conceal that sin and, often, going so far that one even ceases to know that what one is doing is sin. This worst kind of sin, is what Paul is talking about in Romans 1. In that chapter, Paul says that "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven" against it (vs. 18), that God "gave them over" (vss. 24, 26 and 28) to their sin.
Now let me give you another reason for a lot of hypocrisy: We don't want to bring dishonor to God. That kind of hypocrisy is neurotic, but I can understand it. It is a hypocrisy that-though misguided-has an up side to it.
I am often the person to whom a number of "professional Christians" confess their sin. I used to think that they were coming to me because I was so good that I would listen to their confession and then I would tell them how they could be as good as I was. Then I had an "attack of sanity" and realized they were coming to me for the opposite reason. They were saying in essence, "I may be bad, but Steve's worse than I am. At least he will understand and won't condemn me."
Sometimes I say to those "professional Christians" that it would be okay if they were just honest about their failure, their lack of knowledge, their sometimes getting it wrong and, particularly, their sin.
Their response is often something like: "What? Are you crazy? That would kill my ministry (my reputation in the community). So many people depend on me, and it would destroy them."
I suppose that there may be something to that.
Wait... no, there isn't. But thinking that there is has a good side. At least the heart is righteven though the head is really weird.
So, there is a kind of hypocrisy that is a compliment to God's standard, and there is a kind of hypocrisy that has a misguided concern for others. But, as we talk about the good side of hypocrisy, there is a third thing going on (and this is the third point in case you're taking notes): It is the spurious belief that, by being honest about one's inability to live up to a standard, one has-by that admission-somehow lowered the standard.
As you know, there are a lot of people who think that I've "gone too far."
It happens all the time.
People will say, "Steve, I love you, but this time you went over the line, brought dishonor to Christ, betrayed Scripture, hurt the cause of Christ or (the really big one), gave people permission to sin." Then they always say, "I want you to know that I'm saying this out of love."
Given that I'm the most guilt ridden person you know, I spend a considerable portion of my time apologizing, defending what I've said and trying to clean up the messes that I made.
I'm not going to do that anymore. Well, I'm going to try and not do that anymore. Do you know why? Because, if I don't go over the line, it's not the gospel. The message ceases to be "good news," and it becomes very "bad news." In fact, it is such bad news that it says to the world: "You're lost! So deal with it!"
Paul said, "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing.... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:19, 24).
So, to all you hypocrites out there (including me), I have one thing to say: Just stop it! If you tell the truth, nothing will be hurt except your pride (and you'll get over it), and you do not lower the standard by admitting that you haven't lived up to it.
Nobody is won to Christ because of your goodness or your perceived goodness. Just the opposite: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Nobody ever got better by pretending they were good with the hope that in their pretending there is the "doing." People only get better when they are honest with themselves and others, and when they know that God still loves them even when they aren't good. That's why Jesus spent so much time with the "winebibbers and sinners" and was so irritated with the pure, religious folks. He still does and is.
He even spends time with hypocrites like usas long as we know we're hypocrites.
So there you have it. The story of how I became the spiritual giant who has written this article.
Okay. Maybe not a spiritual giant. But I'm better because he loved me aside from whether I was better or not.
You too!
He told me to remind you.
-- Steve Brown