Glimpses of Truth

Honest Hypocrisy – Part II . . .

Just because we are honest about the way we are doesn’t make it right.  Yet that seems to be the new moral standard of today.  Authors, speakers, talk show hosts, even some leaders in the religious ring border on some very serious thoughts of this New Hypocrisy.  We must beware!

To be honest and excuse ourself and our new-found lifestyle by saying, “I’m just being myself,” is simply a new whitened sepulcher hiding the old bones of sin and selfishness.  We still stand before God naked.

The Biblical idea of truthfulness before God stands in sharp contrast.  The freedom to be honest, I mean really honest, before God is one that we should not shun.  His precepts are described as “more precious than gold” and “sweeter than honey.”  Scripture emphasizes God’s moral claims on our lives:  “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”  The things that we really want most are found in following God’s ways.

Yet human nature stubbornly resists these divine requirements; but they cannot, I say again and again, they cannot be swept aside.

Moments of truth in the Bible came when characters recognized their liability and refused to offer convenient excuses.  The thief on the cross, for example, realized his accountability in the nick of time:  “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve”  Luke 23:41.

King David experienced a rude awakening when the prophet Nathan exposed his affair with Bathsheba.  But David didn’t try to cover up.  He openly faced God’s expectations:  “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts”  Psalm 51:6.

That kind of honesty is rare today.  Few are willing to stand broken before a consistent moral standard.  Instead, we try to skirt our obligation and blame our circumstances, to excuse ourselves.

Let’s be honest before God, realize our accountability before it’s too late, and quit blaming something or someone for our sin.

Who can we blame?  Next week.