Hypocrisy Exposed

Jesus said, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1 niv).

Do you know people whose lives are full of religious acts? They appear to be doing the right things, good things. And maybe they are. Any help given to an orphan is a good thing. It's always right to give to meet needs of the poor.

But a religious act is more than the act. Anybody can do the acts but only a Christian can do a religious act. By that, I mean actions that align with "true religion." James wrote that true religion is displayed in actions that help the helpless (James 1:27). Yet in the same breath he says that hypocritical religion is worthless (James 1:26). So why we do what we do makes a difference.

Christians must do helpful acts in the name of Jesus. Let's call that "religious heroism." The attitude with which we do religious heroism matters; let's call this attitude "godly humility." When the two are together, we get a beautiful picture of the body of Christ in action. Absent of godly humility, religious heroism is hypocritical.

Religious heroism without godly humility leads to self-righteous hypocrisy.

Is it possible for religion to be bad? When the action is not coupled with the right attitude, it stinks like soured mile or a junior high boy's gym locker! Paul challenges believers to "live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).

Most of the time when I walk through the fresh meat section of the grocery store I move quickly because the smell of the fresh meat...well, it stinks. I can't imagine being a butcher! But take a piece of that fresh meat and put it on the grill, add a little seasoning and the aroma is delightful! I can stand over the grill and breathe it in.

Our acts of righteousness have a stench when not coupled with humility. Hypocrisy morphs the best acts into something that God will not tolerate.

Christians honor God by serving others with no expectation of personal gain. People in your community need God-honoring believers to help them. Orphans need God-honoring believers to love them. The broken ones, the hurting ones, the forgotten ones need God-honoring believers to touch their lives. Will that be you? Will that be your church?