Integrity

Hypocrite. That’s an accusation no one wants to hear. But what does being a hypocrite really mean?

According to dictionary.com, the work hypocrite means “a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.”

It is pretty easy to open myself up to being called a hypocrite. Any time I sin I fail to make my actions match up to my beliefs. What makes the difference between a sinner and a hypocrite is that the sinner repents and admits the sin, where a hypocrite may express remorse but has no intention of changing.

The challenge is to be conscious of living in a way that is consistent with what we say we believe. Simple demonstrations of honesty, like avoiding what we call white lies and not stealing our employer’s time by taking long lunches or conducting personal business at work can be powerful tools for demonstrating the presence of Christ in our hearts.

One way I am especially tempted in this area is that in my desire to keep the peace, I have been known to tell others things that are not true. We’ve seen this worked out several times around my home recently. With two sisters-in-law, a niece, and at times a brother-in-law living with us, I’ve often been less than frank with them. And I’m not the only one trying to play nice.

What happens is the inevitable conflict eventually boils over, and then we are all outraged that the others were not more honest and direct. Had we all been a bit more truthful, things would have worked out much easier.
But it’s easy to call these little cover ups “white lies,” considering them small sins. No one had any intentions of hurting someone, in fact the deception was meant to avoid hurting their feelings. But feelings were hurt when the deception was exposed.

Psalm 15 tells us that we should speak the truth from the heart. I find it interesting it doesn’t just say speak the truth with your lips, but from the heart. Is the writer saying the truth comes from deep within us; it’s not just a surface or causal thing? Or perhaps he is saying that when we speak the truth, it needs to come from the seat of our emotions. The truth spoken should not be uttered coldly, without concern, but truth spoken in love, desiring the best for each other.

In any case, others around us know one way or another whether our actions match what we say we believe. The good news is that when we admit our sin, we are acting in a way that is in accordance with our words.

And that’s one way we can show the power of Christ to those around us.