Remember that hypocrisy robs us of reality in Christian living. We substitute reputation for character, mere words for true prayer, money for the devotion of the heart. No wonder Jesus compared the Pharisees to tombs that were whitewashed on the outside but filthy on the inside!

Hypocrisy not only robs us of character, it also robs us of spiritual rewards. Instead of the eternal approval of God, we receive the shallow praise of people. We pray, but there are no answers. We fast, but the inner person shows no improvement. The spiritual life becomes hollow and lifeless. We miss the blessing of God here and now, and the reward of God when Christ returns.

Hypocrisy also robs us of spiritual influence. The Pharisees were a negative influence; whatever they touched was defiled and destroyed. The people who admired them and obeyed the Pharisees’ words thought they themselves were being helped, when in reality, they were being hurt.

The first step toward overcoming hypocrisy is to be honest with God in our secret life. We must never pray anything that we do not mean from the heart; otherwise, our prayers are simply empty words. Our motive must be to please God alone, no matter what men may say or do. We must cultivate the heart in the secret place. It has well been said, “The most important part of a Christian’s life is the part that only God sees.” When reputation becomes more important than character, we have become hypocrites.

SAD, but true of many: “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13, NIV).

Other Scripture: Matthew 6:1-5 ,16; Mark 7:7-8; Luke 6:46.

Action assignment: Write out a dictionary-type definition of the word hypocrite. Check your version against a good dictionary entry. Ask God to empower you daily to keep you from playing the role of a hypocrite in any situation.

Warren Wiersbe
BackToTheBible.in