Hypocrisy

The church is supposed to be the body of Christ. But, for much of our history the church has failed. Our failure has left a bad taste in people's mouths. Our mistakes have led to a lack of credibility. Our messes have caused people to seek answers for this life elsewhere."

Are all Christians jerks? Are all self-righteous, judgmental hypocrites? Of course not. However, we do have a struggle through which we desperately need to triumph if we are to be the salt and light to the world that Jesus Christ called us to be. In our church bodies and in our personal lives, we need to resolve the following two verses:

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." - Matt 5:48

"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." - Matt 9:13

Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on this painful planet. He is the image of the Creator, the Holy One of Israel, and we are called to be like him. "Be ye holy as I am holy," 1 Peter 1:16 reminds us. Christians strive for holiness, for righteousness and even for perfection, because that's what the Bible calls us to over and over again.

Yet, one of the big complaints we have all had against some Christians or church bodies is the sense of judgment and criticism we've met when we've failed to meet certain expectations. Sometimes, the judgment and criticism come from our own selves. Nobody wants to live a Christianity that feels like a constant guilt trip, a persistent nagging straitjacket of condemnation.

Jesus, in his perfection, in his holiness, never railed against sinners. He ate with sinners (Mark 2:15-17). They flocked to him. And here's the key - they changed just by being in his presence (Luke 19:2-8). The main group of people that Jesus contended with were not the prostitutes and tax collectors, they were the Pharisees (Matt. 23). They were those who tried to be perfect on their own. They were those who tried to earn God's favor by "looking good." And Jesus called them on it:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." - Matthew 23:23

The church needs to care about integrity and righteousness, but never with the attitude of earning God's love, or to just look good. It's always always got to be connected to our love for our Hero, the Savior of the world who gave everything for us. If our lives are devoted to knowing and loving Jesus, to simply obeying him moment-by-moment, then He will work His holiness through us by the power of His Spirit. In extension, He will love our fellow Christians and the rest of the world through us. Hear what Peter says all in one sentence, as one connected idea:

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" -1 Peter 1:22

Our idea of holiness has been informed too greatly by the austere preachers of history and people dressed in black. We too often associate holiness with coldness, rather than warmth, with being somber rather than with having joy. Had they grown closer to Christ and truly heard the heartbeat of God, those austere preachers might have discovered with surprise how delighted God's heart can be in His children. He longs to take the disobedient and dirty, stumbling and sick, and carefully build them up into bright, joyful, shining pillars of strength.

In our pursuit of perfection, may we remember that perfection is not about following rules. Perfection is all about fulfilling our purpose, God's goal for us, which is to look like His Son. If Jesus is the light, we all should be exhibiting a suntan.