Elephant #1: Hypocrisy

Started this series "The Elephant in the Room" about flaws outsiders see in Christianity that we are often blind to or just simply ignore. It was inspired by a book called UnChristian that has researched what people 18-41 perceive about Christians. There were 6 negative images about Christians held by this group. This series is about these perceptions. April 6, we dealt with the first one - hypocrisy. Hypocrisy has always been a disease of the religious. Jesus defines it as "not practicing what we preach." Jesus' harshest words were directed to religious leaders on this very subject. I know Jesus was a nice, loving person but the words spoken in Matt 23 were anything but nice and loving. I believe Jesus loved these pious religious leaders with all His heart but had to use harsh even shocking words to jolt them out of their self-righteous world and into the reality of God's love. Jesus taught that hypocrisy was more than just an obstacle on the path to salvation but it actually could slam the door to the kingdom of God in a searching soul's face. Jesus saw hypocrisy as someone who embraces a religious system but somehow misses a true relationship with God. Religion can often mask the true condition of our hearts. It is easy to call oneself a Christian because Christianity has been reduced to just another religion. It is the same as saying you are a baptist or a catholic or a methodist or what ever brand you want to put in. But true Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. The real question is not about your religious affiliation but whether you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is harder to say "I am a follower of Jesus Christ" and it exposes our hypocrisy much easier. How I answer the question "Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?" tells me more about my relationship with God than what church I attend or what denomination I grew up in. And lastly, hypocrisy is not so much about sin as it is about falseness. Every Christian sins. Perfection is a future reality but was never the immediate goal. Just because I fail doesn't make me a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is when you say you are one thing but you are really not. Can we say that we are followers of Jesus Christ or are we just playing religious games?