Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Who Are The Hypocrites?

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. -- Galatians 2:11-13

What is a hypocrite? Who is a hypocrite? Seriously. How do you determine who is a hypocrite and who isn’t? To me, a hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something or someone they aren’t. To others, a hypocrite is someone who proclaims what is good and then does who is wrong.

Which is right? Both? Neither? The dictionary defines a hypocrite as someone who pretends to have admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings but behaves otherwise. So maybe both views are right.

Let me ask you another question: Should we stay away from church because of the hypocrites we’ll no doubt find there? There are many, many people who offer up that excuse when someone wants to know why they don’t attend church. Personally, I think we should attend church to worship God and not worry so much about what other people do or don’t do. It’s that whole plank in the eye thing the Bible talks about.

But we do care about what other people think and do. Especially, it seems, in church. Do we believe that somehow we cease to be sinners when we walk through the doors? Do we think those around us somehow leave all their flaws outside?

Peter cared so much about what the church leaders thought, that he pulled away from the Gentile believers lest the Jews think less of him. Remember that before Jesus, Jews and Gentiles didn’t exactly hang out together. But Jesus tore down that barrier. Didn’t He? So why did Peter care what this “circumcision group” thought?

Paul didn’t care. Paul was fearless in his faith and he challenged Peter face-to-face. He didn’t go behind Peter’s back. He didn’t discuss it with the church elders. Paul went directly to Peter and confronted him.

So how do you handle disagreements within the church? How do you react when someone does something you don’t agree with? Do you gossip and complain and leave church over it? Do you take it to the church elders? Or do confront the person directly and work it out?

Hypocrisy happens when we pretend to be better people than we are. And when we expect others to be better people than they are. The thing is, we’re all human. We’re all sinners. And we all fall short of the Glory of God. Give yourself a break. Give those around you another chance. And don’t let anyone keep you from worshipping and servicing our great God!