Careless Preachers
Do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. —Matthew 23:3
Some opponents of Christianity may not be so much against Christ as they are against the hypocrisy of His followers. Ironically, it hasn't occurred to them that no one was more opposed to hypocrisy than Jesus Himself.
We've all met scoffers who thoughtlessly parrot the phrase, "The church is full of hypocrites!" But let's not be thoughtless in our response and dismiss such pronouncements without taking heed lest they be true.
We tend to think that it's not true of us. But let's think again. Have we ever been like the Christian who glanced through her window, only to see a nosy, noisy neighbor approaching her door? Her young, impressionable children heard her as she growled, "Oh, no—not her again!" Whereupon she opened the door and gushed insincerely, "How very nice to see you!"
Our lips and our lives often preach a mixed message. In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus described the hypocritical teachers of the law and warned His disciples, "Do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do" (v.3).
God forbid that some opponent of Christ would be influenced by careless hypocrisy in our lives.
Lord, help us to be "careful preachers."
You can fool the hapless public,
You can be a subtle fraud,
You can hide your little meanness,
But you can't fool God. —Kleiser
A hypocrite will often pray on his knees on Sunday and prey on his neighbors on Monday.
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