AGREEING WITH GOD

I was listening to a podcast where a guy was giving his opinion on religion. “I can’t stand religious hypocrites,” he said. “They talk about religion, but they’re no better than I am. That’s why I don’t like all this religious stuff.”

This guy didn’t realise it, but he was agreeing with God. God has made it clear that He can’t stand hypocrisy either. It’s ironic, though, that something God also hates (people pretending to be good and religious) is used by some people as an excuse not to bother with Him.

Jesus said this about hypocrisy: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (MATTHEW 15:8-9).
Notice what Jesus said to perhaps the biggest hypocrites of His day, the Pharisees (the religious leaders). In Matthew 23, He called them hypocrites—not once, not twice, but seven times! They were religious people who were putting on a big show, but God knew who they really were. He knew they were more interested in themselves than in Him.

Non-Christians who point out hypocrisy in us when they see it are right in doing so. They are agreeing with God, who also wants us to be the same inside and out. Our job is to make sure we keep examining ourselves before God and asking Him to help us become people who love Him, through and through. Then we will be able to be transparent to everyone—because no matter when, where or how they see us, they’ll firstly see people who love and rely on Jesus.