Hypocrite.
I’ve been a big one, and if I am honest, so often am still one.
I found myself curious about this topic today, and what it looks like in my life. I want to take a little time to explain what I have learned.
A hypocrite is a stage player. An actor. A man whose outside and inside don’t match up. I know what this is like. And on a spiritual level, hypocrisy is “performing righteousness” while the real heart condition is hidden. It is pretending not to struggle with sin.
What drives hypocrisy? From what I can see and have known, fear, pride, wounds, self-righteousness, greed, jealousy, and the need for human approval.
I’ve learned that hypocrisy is connected to…
Seeking people-approval rather than God. Image protection instead of truth. Outward behavior rather than heart change.
I have seen that hypocrisy is really, truly, self-centered living.
In Luke 12, Jesus paints a picture of a self-centered, hypocritical heart, that moves to protect (my own)…
–>Image (hypocrite)
–>Safety (fear)
–>Possessions (greed)
–>Future (worry)
A Better Way
In contrast, integrity looks like the private and public man becoming the same. A man moving from divided to whole.
What does a God-centered heart move toward? Here’s my take…it moves towards:
–>Integrity (pleasing God)
–>Love (concern for others)
–>Generosity (His possessions)
–>Faith (future confidence)
Becoming an honest man first starts with understanding where our lives are hypocritical. And Jesus helps us here. His words reveal and bring light to the hidden parts of our hearts—the backstage desires that threaten our public performances and our relationships with others, and ultimately with God. Check out Luke 12.
If we really get this—if we really know what honest, authentic, God-centered living looks like, and become men who live in integrity, the impacts to our friendships, marriages, children, neighbors, churches, and communities will be massive.
Moving Forward
What role are you playing? It’s time to tear the curtains down.
Let’s be honest, guys. Let’s confess our shortcomings. Let’s be men who seek help—who look for accountability and honest relationships. And let’s do this together.
Let’s get real. It’s time for our stage-acting to end, and for us to step down and begin to walk beside other men, in the light. Let’s be men who hit our knees before God, asking Him to reveal our own hypocrisy. We’ve been divided long enough– it’s time to be whole.
Let’s become honest men.
Reflections
I hope you take the time to consider a few of these questions. Write down your responses. Talk with another guy about them. I think we can all learn something here.
Does your hidden life match your public one?
Do you pretend all is fine when it is really not?
Do you pretend not to need anyone when you really do?
Hypocrisy divides a man’s own self. What happens when you are divided?
Hypocrisy does not result in the alertness or readiness God asks of us. How so?
Hypocrisy is a threat to unity and community. How so?
Hypocrisy can be found (in some form) in every man. In what ways does it show up in you?
What do you believe is the remedy to your own hypocrisy?