Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt 6:21). We get that, right? We have a saying -- "Put your money where your mouth is" -- intended to say, "Well, if that's what you really believe, then we should be able to see it in your life." You know, like Jesus said.
Christians are often falsely accused of being hypocrites. "Well, you're against sexual sin, but didn't you do the same things when you were younger?" That's not, actually, hypocrisy. The biblical position is that all have sinned (Rom 3:23), and the Christian stance is that we are sinners looking to Christ for His solution. Hypocrisy would require we say we're not. On the other hand, Christians are often truthfully accused of hypocrisy. How does that work? When we say with our mouths that we believe this or that, but our lives don't reflect it. It is odd, in fact, how much this permeates the Christian community. I think every one of us walks around with secret sins believing we're the only one suffering from them and no one else is, so we keep them secret and put on a show of being godly in areas we aren't. That is hypocrisy. And it's unnecessary if biblical Christianity is true.
Here's the real problem, though. Have you ever reflected on where your heart is? Let me try this from a different direction. What does your life say about what you really treasure? Is time with God and His people your highest pleasure, or is it a chore you endure ... sometimes? Do you express compassion for the needy without attending to them? Do you speak with outrage of the sins of the society around you while you secretly follow them with pleasure? Do you aim to deny yourself and take up your cross all while pursuing your highest comfort? Do you treasure the gospel, but don't plan to share it with anyone else? If we're honest, we all suffer from this problem of misplaced treasure -- fun, friends, family, fame, fortune, pleasure, etc. -- that is proven out in our actual living. We think we're getting away with it because we either don't see it or, at least, we're pretty sure no one else does. If our hearts (as opposed to our words) are not in the right place, it's very likely a misplaced treasure we're seeking.
2 comments:
I see the difference between hypocrisy and sinfulness as how we treat our sin. Do you denounce the sin in others while enjoying that same sin in yourself, or do you denounce the sin in others that you hate that you commit as well. On top of that, is the hypocrisy you speak of here. Do we claim Christ but live without Him? Far too often we do, but when we acknowledge it and repent and strive to do better, it removes the hypocritical portion, even when we fail to conform fully. Acknowledging our faults and calling them out in ourselves and others is how we avoid being hypocrites.
I always say that reading here gives me a steady diet of good “food for thought;” sometimes that daily portion is “comfort food,” and sometimes what I read (like this post) is a bit “harder to swallow.” Either way, they are beneficial to me, and I appreciate them.
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