Chapter 6: Emptying “Hypocrisy”

Chapter 6:

Emptying “Hypocrisy”

 

 

 

`In the preceding chapters, we examined how we must empty ourselves of pride, which seeks to exalt itself above God, and greed, which is not satisfied with God but continually desires to possess more. Now we turn to another deeply rooted sin: hypocrisy.

 

Hypocrisy is the desire to present to others an image of ourselves that is different from who we really are. It is harboring one thing in our hearts while outwardly behaving as though we think otherwise.  It is becoming more conscious of people’s evaluation than of God and decorating our faith accordingly.  Therefore, emptying hypocrisy does not begin with trying to appear to others as a better Christian.  Rather, it begins with looking honestly at who we really are before God, without hiding anything.  We can deceive people. To some extent, we can manage the image that others see. But no mask is of any use before God, because God knows not only what people see but also the thoughts and motives of our hearts.  Therefore, the first question we must ask in order to empty hypocrisy is not: “How do people see me?” but: “How does God see me right now?”  Standing honestly before this question is the beginning of emptying hypocrisy.

 

Do Not Use the Word as a Tool to Fulfill Your Own Desires

 

In the Gospels, Jesus severely rebuked the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  They knew the Word of God well and were zealous in keeping the law.  The problem, however, was that knowing the Word and obeying the Word had become separated from one another.  In Luke 16:18, Jesus speaks concerning divorce.  Among the religious leaders of that time were those who used the teaching concerning the certificate of divorce in Deuteronomy 24 in ways that suited their own desires.  Instead of receiving God’s Word in order to empty themselves of their own desires and obey Him, they used the Word as a basis for justifying what they wanted.

This is one form of hypocrisy.  Outwardly, we may insist, “The Bible says this,” while actually using the Word as a tool to protect our own desires and interests.  Instead of conforming ourselves to the Word, we conform the Word to our own thinking. 

We are not free from this danger today.  It is necessary to value doctrine, tradition, and order within the church.  But we must not use them as tools to protect our own position and interests or to recklessly condemn those who think differently from us.  God’s Word must first shine upon me.  Before I direct it toward someone else, it must be directed toward my own heart.  Before using the Word to identify another person’s faults, I must first ask what I need to repent of before that Word.  Knowing much of Scripture does not protect us automatically from hypocrisy.  On the contrary, if we know much of Scripture but fail to examine ourselves in its light, even biblical knowledge can become a mask that hides our hypocrisy.  Therefore, we must continually ask ourselves: “Am I seeking to obey the Word, or am I using the Word to justify my own thinking?” 

 

Hypocrisy Is Like a Mask That Hides Who We Really Are

 

The Greek word used in the New Testament for a hypocrite, hypokritēs (ὑποκριτής), was originally used for an actor who played another person’s role on a stage.  An actor does not present his actual identity on stage but portrays the role assigned to him.  This image helps us understand hypocrisy.  Hypocritical faith seeks to show people a version of ourselves that differs from who we really are.  We may harbor hatred in our hearts while acting as though we are loving. We may say that we have forgiven while actually refusing to forgive.  We may depend more upon money and reputation than upon God while trying to appear as people who trust God alone.  We may speak piously at church while treating our family carelessly at home.  We may preach forgiveness from the pulpit while harboring years of hatred in our hearts.  We may speak kindly to someone face-to-face and then speak badly about that person behind his or her back.  Outwardly, we may congratulate someone on success while inwardly hoping that person will fail.

This is precisely the danger of hypocrisy: Who I am before people and who I am before God gradually become two different persons.

 

Jesus compared the Pharisees to whitewashed tombs.  They appeared beautiful on the outside, but inside they were filled with dead people’s bones and uncleanness.  The Lord’s concern was not that they cleaned the outside. The problem was that they cleaned the outside while leaving the inside unchanged.  Faith is not the work of decorating the self that people see.  It is honestly facing the true condition of our hearts before God, repenting of the sin within us, and being transformed by the grace of Christ.

 

Hypocrisy Deceives Not Only Others but Eventually Ourselves

 

Judas Iscariot shows us how deeply hypocrisy can penetrate a person.  He had already determined in his heart to betray Jesus.  Yet when Jesus said that one of His disciples would betray Him, Judas asked with the other disciples: “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” (Mt. 26:25)  He had already decided in his heart to betray Jesus, yet outwardly he behaved like a disciple who knew nothing about it.  Hypocrisy may begin by deceiving other people.  But when we live behind a mask for a long time, eventually we begin to deceive ourselves.  We begin to mistake the image we present to others for our actual spiritual condition.  If people in the church have regarded us as faithful Christians for many years, we may begin to think that their evaluation itself proves the reality of our faith.  A pastor may preach well and receive recognition from many people and therefore assume that his own soul must also be healthy. 

 

A church leader may think that because he has served the church for many years, there is little left in his life that requires repentance.  But the evaluations of people cannot be the final standard for determining our spiritual condition.  What matters is who I am before God.  What I think when no one is watching, how I treat my family, how I use money, how I respond inwardly to another person’s success or failure, and whether I repent or make excuses when my faults are exposed—these things reveal who I really am.  Therefore, emptying hypocrisy must not end merely with improving the image we show other people.

We must go further and honestly encounter our true selves before God.

 

God Sees Not Only Our Actions but Also Our Motives

 

Jesus said in Luke 12:2: “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.”  We can hide our hearts from other people.  We can even conceal the desires hiding behind seemingly good actions.  But we cannot hide them from God.  The apostle Paul likewise says in 1 Corinthians 4:5 that the Lord “will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.”  God sees not only what we did but also why we did it.  We may have helped someone, but our greater desire may have been to receive recognition.  We may have served the church diligently while secretly wanting to protect our position.  We may have spoken what was right but done so because we wanted to defeat the other person rather than restore that person.  Therefore, emptying hypocrisy is not merely correcting our outward behavior.  It means examining before God the motives hidden behind our actions.  At times, we need to ask ourselves: “What is the real reason I am doing this?”  “Am I doing this to please God or to receive recognition from people?”  “Am I speaking to restore this person, or to prove that I am right?”  “Am I doing this for the good of the community, or to protect my own position and reputation?”  Standing honestly before questions like these is an important discipline in emptying hypocrisy.

We Must See the Hypocrisy Within Ourselves Before Seeing It in Others

 

There is something about which we must be especially careful when reading biblical teachings on hypocrisy.  We may think of the Pharisees and immediately think of someone else: “That person is just like a Pharisee.”  “That pastor is hypocritical.”  “That person says one thing and does another.”  But Jesus’ teaching about hypocrisy was not given first of all so that we could judge others.  It is a Word that must first shine upon ourselves.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:5: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  The hypocrite is sensitive to the speck in another person’s eye but insensitive to the plank in his own.  He sees another person’s faults as large and his own as small.  He demands high standards of others while granting himself all kinds of reasons and exceptions. 

 

Therefore, the first step in emptying hypocrisy is not identifying the hypocrisy of others but acknowledging the hypocrisy within ourselves.  “Lord, I judged others while failing to see the sin within myself.”  “Lord, I applied Your Word to others but failed to apply it to myself.”  “Lord, because I wanted people’s approval, I tried to appear more godly than I really was.”  We must be able to acknowledge honestly before God who we really are.  Before the Word becomes a sword with which we pierce others, it must first become a mirror in which we see ourselves.

 

Hypocrisy Is Demanding from Others What We Ourselves Do Not Practice

 

Another expression of Pharisaic hypocrisy is demanding that others live according to the Word while we ourselves fail to do so.  We tell others to love while we ourselves do not love.  We tell others to forgive while we ourselves refuse to forgive.  We demand that others serve while we ourselves do not serve.  We condemn the greed of others while refusing to empty ourselves of our own greed.  This hypocrisy can easily appear within the family.  Parents may tell their children to read the Bible while they themselves rarely draw near to the Word.  They may teach their children to be honest while refusing to acknowledge their own faults.  They may require their children to apologize while refusing to apologize themselves because they are the parents.  Fathers, in particular, can easily think that admitting their mistakes will weaken their authority.  They may therefore wear the mask of authoritarianism in order to hide their weaknesses and failures.  But when a father has done wrong, being able to say before his wife and children, “I’m sorry. Dad was wrong. I also fell short before the Lord,” does not mean losing authority.  Rather, children can learn the gospel through a father who knows how to repent more deeply than through a father who pretends to be perfect.  What matters is not showing children parents who never fall.  What matters is showing them parents who, when they fall, acknowledge their wrong, depend upon God’s grace, and rise again.  The same is true in the church.  Pastors and leaders do not need to behave as though they know everything and are always right.  When their judgment has been wrong, they should be able to acknowledge it.  When they have hurt someone, they should be able to apologize.  And they should be able to acknowledge that they too are people who must continually be transformed before the Word.

 

Emptying Hypocrisy Does Not Mean Becoming a Perfect Person

 

It means emptying ourselves of the desire to appear perfect.  Faith that exists for people to see must not become a religious performance.  Another reason Jesus rebuked the Pharisees was that they were excessively focused on a faith displayed before people.  Faith is not a stage on which we perform for others.  How godly people think I am, how highly they regard me as a pastor, or how devoted they consider me as a church leader must not become the center of faith.  There is nothing inherently wrong with being respected by others.  A good reputation is something for which we can be thankful.  But the moment people’s evaluation becomes more important than honesty before God, hypocrisy can begin.  Today we have more opportunities than ever to show ourselves to others.  Not only within the church but through many forms of media, we can easily make our ministry, good works, and thoughts known to others.  That in itself is not wrong.  But precisely because we have these opportunities, we must examine our motives even more carefully.  “Am I giving glory to God, or am I drawing attention to myself?”  This question is not one we should use first to judge others.  It is a question we must first ask ourselves.  More important than the ministry people see is the relationship we have with God in the place where no one is watching.

 

Who We Are When No One Is Watching Is Also Who We Are Before God

 

To empty hypocrisy, we must value the time we spend alone with God.  We need prayer in which we reveal our actual hearts to God, not prayer intended to make us appear godly to others.  Rather than merely confirming that we have fulfilled the duty of reading the Bible, we must allow God to shine His Word into our hearts.  God is with us even where no one else is watching.  Therefore, faith in the secret place matters.  If we say at church that we love God but never draw near to His Word at home, we need to examine our faith.  If parents emphasize worship and Scripture to their children while neglecting their own relationship with God, their children will see the gap between their words and their lives.  On the other hand, even if parents are not perfect, if their children see them loving the Word, repenting when they are wrong, and rising again by depending upon God, those children will learn faith not only through words but through life.  The same is true in the workplace.  We must be honest not only when people are watching but also when no one is watching.  We should not work diligently only when the supervisor is present but carry out our responsibilities faithfully because we believe the work has been entrusted to us by God.  The smaller the gap becomes between who we are before people and who we are when no one is watching, the more genuine our faith becomes.

 

Do Not Use the Word as a Tool for Judging Others

 

Knowing much of the Bible and studying theology are valuable things.  But biblical knowledge does not automatically make us humble.  Indeed, if we apply the Word only to other people, that knowledge can make us proud.  While listening to a sermon, we may sometimes think: “That person really needs to hear this message.”  But the first question should be: “Lord, what are You saying to me through this Word today?”  Discerning another person’s wrongdoing is different from condemning that person.  There are times when we must call something wrong because it is wrong.  There are times when correction and rebuke are necessary to protect the community.  But even then, we must first examine our own hearts.  Do I desire the restoration of this person, or do I simply want to defeat him?  Am I speaking the truth, or am I using the truth to pour out my anger?  Am I seeking to build up the community, or am I protecting my own position?  Before the Word becomes a weapon for attacking others, it must become the Word that transforms me.

 

Emptying Hypocrisy Begins Before the Cross

 

How, then, can we empty ourselves of hypocrisy?  Ultimately, we must come before the cross.  Before the cross, we have no need to make ourselves appear righteous.  We were not saved because we were more godly than others or because we were people without failures.  We are all sinners who need the grace of Christ.  If we truly believe this, we will have less reason to wear masks to hide our weaknesses.  When we are wrong, we can acknowledge it.  When we sin, we can repent.  When we hurt another person, we can apologize.  When the Holy Spirit reveals the hypocrisy within us through the Word, do not hide it or make excuses.  Say: “Lord, this is who I am.”  Then bring that sin to the cross.  Emptying hypocrisy is not the work of making ourselves into more impressive people.  It is emptying ourselves of the desire to appear righteous and clinging instead to the righteousness and grace of Christ.  James 3:17 says: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  What God desires is not a person whose outside has simply been beautifully decorated.  He desires a person who, despite his shortcomings, honestly acknowledges who he is before God, repents, and continues to be transformed in the grace of Christ.  Emptying hypocrisy does not mean becoming a person without flaws.  It means removing the mask that tries to make us appear flawless.  And it means that who we are before people and who we are before God gradually become one and the same.

 

  

 

Principles and Practical Guidelines for Emptying “Hypocrisy”

 

 

How, then, can we continue to empty ourselves of hypocrisy in our homes, churches, and workplaces?  Hypocrisy is not a sin that completely disappears through a single decision.  We continue to experience the desire to be conscious of how others evaluate us and to make ourselves look good in their eyes.  Therefore, we must ask for the help of the Holy Spirit and examine our hearts daily before the Word of God.  The following five practices can be cultivated in our everyday lives.

 

1.     Live before God rather than before the eyes of people.

 

Luke 12:2 says, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.”  Hypocrisy easily grows when we become more conscious of people’s eyes than of God.  When we become overly concerned about how others see us, we begin to present ourselves as better than we really are.  Therefore, even when doing good works, carrying out ministry, or serving others, examine your heart.  “Would I still do this if no one recognized me for it?”  This question helps us examine our motives.  Learn to believe that it is enough for God to know, even if no one else recognizes what you have done.  Consider pleasing God more important than receiving the applause of people.

 

2.     Examine the motives hidden behind your words and actions.

 

The same action can arise from different motives.  We may help someone while wanting to receive recognition.  We may say something that is right while wanting to defeat the other person. We may serve the church while secretly wanting to protect our own position.  Therefore, we need to ask ourselves frequently: “Why am I saying this right now?”  “What is the real purpose for which I am doing this?”  “Is this for God, or is it to draw attention to myself?”  We cannot perfectly understand all our own motives. For this very reason, we must ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts through the Word.  Before judging someone else, first examine your own heart. Before applying the Word to someone else, first apply it to yourself.

 

3.     Honestly acknowledge the gap between your words and your life.

 

Hypocrisy grows when we try to appear as though we are already living out a faith that we are not actually living.  Therefore, do not present yourself as more spiritual than you really are.  You should be able to say that you do not know when you do not know.  When you have done wrong, you should be able to acknowledge that you were wrong.  If there are areas of your life that have not yet been transformed, you must honestly acknowledge them before God.  This is especially important in the family.  What parents need to show their children is not perfection. They need to show them what it looks like to repent when they have done wrong.  If a father has done wrong, he should be able to say to his wife and children: “I’m sorry. Dad was wrong.”  The same is true of pastors and leaders.  Rather than hiding their mistakes in order to protect their authority, they should be able to acknowledge when they are wrong and apologize.  An apology does not destroy spiritual authority. It removes the mask of hypocrisy.

 

4.     Treasure your relationship with God when no one is watching.

 

Treasure the faith you live out when you are alone with God more than the faith you display before people.  Do not turn prayer into a means of appearing godly before others.  When you read the Bible, do not do so merely to gain the satisfaction of having fulfilled a religious duty. Read it in order to meet God through His Word and examine your own heart.  In the home, parents themselves must first live close to the Word and live a life of prayer.  Do not demand a life of faith only from your children. Let them see their parents seeking God first.  The same principle applies in the workplace. Do not become one kind of person when others are watching and another when they are not.  God sees even when no one else does.  The path of emptying hypocrisy is to reduce the distance between who I am before people and who I am before God.

 

5.     Humbly listen to the counsel of trustworthy people.

 

There are times when we cannot see our own hypocrisy.  Therefore, we need faithful companions who love us and are willing to tell us what we need to hear.  When someone points out something wrong in us, do not immediately defend yourself.  You do not need to accept every criticism unconditionally, but first examine it before God.  “Is there something God is showing me through these words?”  Value truth more than saving face.  Before looking for the speck in another person’s eye, examine the plank in your own.  And if you discover that you have done wrong, do not make excuses.  Repent.  When members of a community can lovingly admonish one another and humbly receive admonition, hypocrisy gradually loses its place to stand.

However, we must not attempt to accomplish these five practices by our own effort alone.  Emptying hypocrisy also requires the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit.  By our own strength, we cannot completely purify all the motives hidden deep within our hearts.  In fact, the very moment we begin to think, “I am no longer hypocritical,” we may fall into another form of self-righteousness.  Therefore, we must ask the Holy Spirit to shine the light of the Word into our hearts.  We must acknowledge and repent of the sins revealed in that light and depend upon the grace of the cross.  We can pray: “Lord, help me to see not the image of myself that I want others to see, but the person You see.  Show me the hypocrisy and self-righteousness hidden within me, and do not let me hide them or make excuses for them.  Empty my heart of the desire for human recognition and praise, and help me live to please You alone.  Make my words and my life one. Make me an honest person who can acknowledge my wrongs, repent, and apologize when I have done wrong.  Holy Spirit, shine Your light into my heart every day and fill me with the sincere heart of Christ.”

 

Emptying hypocrisy does not mean revealing all our weaknesses and failures to everyone.  Nor does it mean that we must speak every thought in our minds without discernment.  The heart of emptying hypocrisy is reducing the distance between the self that people see and the person we actually are before God.  It means that our words and our lives increasingly become one, that who we are before people and who we are when no one is watching increasingly become one, and that when we do wrong, we do not hide behind a mask but honestly repent before God.  The purpose of emptying is not to become an empty person.

It is to empty the heart that has been filled with the desire for human recognition, self-righteousness, and pretense, and to fill that place with the mind of Christ.  Hypocrisy says: “This is how I want people to see me.”  Faith confesses: “I want to live truthfully before God.”

 

Therefore, a person who empties hypocrisy does not struggle to appear perfect.  While acknowledging his or her weakness, that person does not remain there but continues to be transformed day by day by depending upon the grace of the cross.  Such a person becomes more conscious of God’s gaze than of human applause, chooses truth over saving face, and examines his own heart before pointing out the faults of others.  And in the home, the church, and the workplace, that person’s words and life increasingly become one.  This is the path of “emptying hypocrisy” that we must walk every day.