“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
In Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, Polonius offers sage counsel to his son, Laertes, as he is about to embark for Paris. One piece of advice he gives him is, “To thine own self be true,” or in modern parlance, “be true to yourself.”
Being who we are is an important tenet of what we are supposed to be as God’s children. One of the main themes of chastisement in Christ’s ministry was against the dual nature of many religious leaders: verbally proclaiming their faith, yet not living it. This is known as “hypocrisy,” or being a hypocrite.
Hypocrisy is claiming to believe or be one thing but acting in a completely different manner. It derives from a Greek term for an actor who literally “wears a mask;” pretending to be what they are not.
In Scripture, hypocrisy is considered a sin and can take two forms: professing beliefs in something and then acting in a contrary manner, or to look down on someone when we ourselves are flawed.
God, through the Prophet Isaiah, condemned hypocrisy in olden times by saying, “These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Is. 29:13). Centuries later, Jesus quoted this same verse to condemn the religious leaders of His day (Matt. 15:8-9), even going as far as to call them “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15), “whitewashed tombs” (Matt. 23:27), “snakes and vipers” (Matt. 23:33).
To be a true, right-believing Christian, one must not only profess their faith and beliefs they must also live that faith, practicing it on a continual basis. Putting on a false external façade is no match to perpetual inner sanctification.
During our Lord’s earthly ministry, He had numerous run-ins with the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were the religions leaders of the day. These men were well versed in Scripture and zealous about the law, yet they practiced and adhered to them blindly without maintaining the spirit of what they meant; often even displaying a lack of compassion toward their fellow citizens. And because the Pharisees went over-board in being demonstrative with their so-called spirituality and religious fervor that the term “Pharisee” has now also become a synonym for hypocrite.
As Children of God, we are encouraged to abhor hypocrisy and to live in truth. To strive for holiness (1 Peter 1:16), to “hate what is evil,” and to “cling to what is good” (Rom. 12:9). Therefore, during this upcoming Lenten Season, let our journey consist of “being who and what we are called to be.” To live each day b
earing our cross and emulating Christ, following His example, and reflecting his Love, Mercy, and Compassion.
To go through the Great Fast keeping the “letter of the law” in prayer and fasting, an
d NOT being guided by the true spirit of the Law – nor repenting of and transforming our way of life for the better – is the epitome of hypocrisy.
