When I look in a mirror, I am surprised by my appearance. Somehow I am older, more bald, frailer, and not nearly as good looking as I think that I am during the day. When I am interacting with people, I view myself a certain way and think that I am communicating certain things. However, the picture I have of myself is not always what is actually communicated. If my actions contradict my words, we call that hypocrisy.
Jesus confronted the great hypocrisy of His day. The Jewish leaders had burdened the people with a great many traditions and moral laws in the name of their religion. These laws did not usually draw people closer to God, but actually drove people away from God. Even worse was the fact that these same so called spiritual leaders did not keep the traditions and laws that they professed.
Jesus rebuked the leaders when He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”
We all fail sometimes, but consistent failure in some area is a danger to ourselves and to those who we may influence. We all should look in a spiritual mirror, God’s Word, daily and evaluate whether we are living up to the words we speak and whether our actions conform to the truth of God’s Word. God’s Word is the mirror that reveals the truth about our hearts. It is only by the power of God’s Spirit that we can hope to eradicate hypocrisy from our lives and begin to live in truth.
Reluctant Retiree 