Tag: hypocrisy

Live with Integrity (Psalm 26)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
    test my heart and mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in faithfulness to you.

I do not sit with the worthless,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers
    and will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O Lord,
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell
    and the place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners
    nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
those in whose hands are evil devices
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.

But as for me, I walk in my integrity;
    redeem me and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
    in the great congregation I will bless the Lord. (New Revised Standard Version)

Those with integrity long for, and pray for, justice and righteousness. They despise evil and desire the community of faith to be full of love.

Today’s psalm, as well as all of the psalms, are solid prayers which are meant to be prayed by any individual person, at any time, in any era. Those desiring the right, the just, and the good, will especially gravitate toward the psalter and prayer.

The faithful seek to live a morally upright life of integrity, peace, and wholeness. Yet, the psalm is also for those who find themselves unfaithful. They can pray and ask God to search their hearts and bring them to innocence. So, no matter who you are, this psalm is for anyone who wants to connect with the Lord

We have the ability to come before God because God encourages it, and makes it possible for us to approach. The Lord isn’t looking for perfection; God wants some honesty and vulnerability, and for us to realize how utterly dependent creatures we are.

The steadfast love of God is everywhere, and the psalmist recognized this. No matter the situation or circumstance, no matter the place or time, God’s love is present. The reason why we can wrap our faith and commitment around God is that God is consistently and constantly loving in everything.

And whenever we discern and know that this world spins on the axis of love, then we have no desire whatsoever to hang out with those who practice wickedness; we want nothing to do with worthless conversations and actions.

When one has been touched by divine love, not only is there a desire to avoid all evil, but there is also a longing to remain in that love, and to have love be the dominant operative force in all things on this earth.

Once we receive love, we want to give love. And having given love, we desire for the entire world to know this love, which is the true ballast and support of the world.

Without love, there is nothing. With love, all things are possible.

The one who loves does not consort with liars or hypocrites, because such persons indulge deception and selfishness, not openness and respect for others. The lover of God and of righteousness is not found in the company of evildoers.

The lovers amongst us are much too busy providing justice and goodness. The haters amongst us just sit around and curmudgeon on about everything that is messed up in this world, and make fun of all the do-gooders who are so enamored with love.

Which group of people would you rather be around? The lovers or the curmudgeons? Would you like to be in the group who acts like they have everything together? Or would you instead like to be in the group who knows how much they are dependent on the force of love, and of the originator of love, the one who is Love incarnate?

I, personally, would rather be in the community of the redeemed, who know they have been rescued by grace and could fall into wickedness if not for God’s sustaining grace. I have no desire to be in community with people who talk one way and live another.

I would like to be in the place characterized by integrity and love, the sort of place described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you….

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:1-3, 9-18, NIV)

The only thing better than blessing the Lord, is blessing the Lord with an entire congregation of redeemed people who possess integrity, righteousness, and sincere love.

The psalmist, along with the Apostle Paul, lets us know that each of us is responsible for our moral and spiritual integrity. We bear the responsibility to give and receive love. Prayer then becomes much easier and desirable whenever we can pray with a longing for God and God’s righteousness. We really can follow God’s ways and serve the common good of all people with some solid integrity.

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV)

What Do You Value? (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Sermon on the Mount, by Beryl Lewis (1939-2021)

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you….

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (New International Version)

Spiritual Disciplines

In Christ’s day, there were three spiritual disciplines that were especially important: giving, prayer, and fasting. For the Jewish faithful, these three practices were meant to work together in helping them to know God and serve others. 

Yet, over time, although the disciplines were maintained, they were observed for all the wrong reasons. Jesus was concerned to communicate that not only are people to do the right thing, but that they do the right things for the right reasons.

To do any less, is to be a hypocrite who maintains an outward form of religion, but is inwardly motivated by the praise and recognition of others. Such a person is, in reality, far from God. 

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent on the Christian Calendar. This season is a time devoted to spiritual disciplines, especially fasting.

Fasting

Those who truly hunger and thirst for righteousness take the time eat spiritual food in order to pursue God and seek right relationships in this world. It’s not a matter if we fast, but when.

The Bible has a great deal to say about fasting:

  • Fasting is a sign of humility and brokenness before God in recognizing both personal and corporate guilt. (1 Samuel 7:2-6)
  • Fasting is a means of preparation for ministry. Jesus used fasting in the desert as preparation for his ministry, and to face down the devil (Matthew 4:1-2). And the apostles fasted when seeking God’s direction about a new ministry. (Acts 13:2-3)
  • Fasting is meant to connect with God and serve others; and not to simply go through the motions. (Isaiah 58:3-7)

Therefore, fasting is a time to get in touch with God, to know the divine will, and then to do it. 

God doesn’t operate on a point system. If we only go through the motions of a spiritual discipline, or do it so that others will notice that I am doing my duty, then we have come under the condemnation of Jesus and are proved as hypocrites.

True fasting in an outward practice reflecting an inner attitude of heart; it’s an expression of devotion in order to connect with God and do good works of service to others.

Framing the topic another way: Why don’t we fast? Because it’s culturally okay not to? Because nobody cares whether I do, or don’t?

The spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, fasting, and other Christian practices have changed my life because they are a vital means of connecting with God and engaging the world.

A farmer disciplines himself to plow, plant, and cultivate – not because he wants to impress others (“Y’all see my big ol’ tractor and my implements!?”) but so that he will receive the reward of reaping a harvest at the proper time. 

So, we also, can engage in spiritual disciplines, like fasting, in order to see a harvest of righteousness.

Earthly vs. Heavenly Treasure

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. What are earthly treasures? It’s stuff, money, possessions, as well as control, power, position, and recognition from others.

You may rightly ask, “Is this really, in and of itself, wrong?” No, it’s not. The real question is not whether we possess earthly treasure (because we all do) but rather:

Do I use my earthly treasure to build heavenly treasure? Do I hoard earthly treasure for my own purposes apart from Christ’s kingdom values?

Jesus once illustrated the difference:

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(Luke 12:13-21, NIV)

Again, earthly possessions are tools to be used; and not for accumulating personal wealth, esteem, and success for the sake of security in money. Rather, everything the Christian has is for the advancement of God’s kingdom values. 

Why do this? Because earthly treasure is temporary, and heavenly treasure is permanent. 

Is what you are pursuing today really going to matter in 50 billion millennia?

Heavenly treasure is righteousness as defined by Jesus: right relationships with both God and other humans.  Humility, peace, grace, mercy, purity, forgiveness are all relational values. The only thing that we will take with us when we die is relationships.

If I am genuinely committed to God’s kingdom, my most cherished values will be established by God. 

Our real values consume our thoughts and our efforts; what is in our hearts directs our work. And our ultimate values derive from how we perceive our identity. 

For a great many Americans, the primary noun that characterizes and defines us is not American Christians, not American citizens, not American workers; we are known primarily as American Consumers. 

Jesus is not necessarily advocating that we take vows of poverty, or that we ought not to enjoy the good things we have; what he is asking of us is to make a decision where your loyalty is placed.

Spiritual disciplines such as fasting help us to maintain our most cherished values, to see them clearly, and to choose wisely based upon those values.

May it be so, to the glory of God. Amen.

Unmasking the Hypocrite (Matthew 15:1-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’” (New International Version)

Reading the Gospel lesson for today, I try to imagine what emotions Jesus might have experienced when confronted by the teachers of the law about his disciples’ lack of attention to tradition concerning ritual hand washings.

Maybe Jesus felt frustration, anger, sadness, exasperation, disappointment, irritation, aggravation, or discouragement. Perhaps Christ experienced all those emotions. Whatever Jesus was feeling at the time, I can easily see him taking a deep breath and exhaling a great big *sigh* over the religious leaders’ hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is a disconnect between the values we espouse and our behavior. When there is incongruence between what we say is important and how we really live, this is being two-faced and duplicitous.

The men who came to see Jesus were plain old insincere hacks who practiced religious quackery. And Jesus saw right through their fake pretention of righteousness.

First off, this narrative is not a dig on rituals themselves but on using ritual to leverage an appearance of religious superiority over others. This type of motivation for engaging in rituals ignores their ethical and moral intention. Sometimes folks can get so doggone wrapped up in how faith is represented that they lose sight of the faith itself.

Hypocrisy has to do with our motives – not so much what we do, but why we do it. Rituals are good. Why we do them or not, or how we go about doing them, gets at the heart of our objectives for engaging religious practices. Are they truly a worship offering to God, or are they merely mechanisms for keeping up appearances of holiness?

The hypocrite is an actor. Hypocrisy is acting a part which is not truly the person. It is to live from the false self through the attempt of providing an idealized perfect person to the public, instead of embracing the true self and realizing our common humanity with one another in genuine devotion to God and service to others.

Religious hypocrisy is particularly insidious because it uses what is sacred for selfish purposes. It damages the credibility of the religion, creates idolatry, and covers hate with a veneer of pretentious piety.

The hypocrite is one who is a bundle of disparate parts in massive need of integration to a whole and real self. The cost to facing this is letting others see the true self with all of its flaws, imperfections, and weaknesses.

A lot of people have no willingness, nor the intention, to be viewed by others in the true self; so they maintain their play-acting and continue to seek attention and accolades through being the model religious person.

We all must come to grips with the reality that God cares a whole lot about why we do what we do. When the forms of faith become tools of oppression, and big burdens upon others backs, then those forms have supplanted the faith itself. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, and from the heart the hands and feet move.

Whenever we care more about being and appearing right – rather than getting it right and becoming better – then we have a heart problem. The heart of the issue is the heart itself. Clean up the heart, and everything else follows – not the other way around.

The probity of today’s Gospel lesson is that we might misinterpret what is important to God. We may be playing the hypocrite; and yet have the misguided belief we are genuine.

The capacity for our hearts to enlarge with love is in direct relation to an awareness of the hidden motives buried within those hearts. Evil intentions and motivations are what separate us from God – not our race, class, age, gender, religion, ethnicity, behavior, rituals, or anything else on the outside.

If we find ourselves being nit-picky of others, this is usually a clue that the unconscious self is trying to protect us from facing the pain of our own sins by projecting and focusing on another’s supposed missteps with tradition or ritual.

Fortunately, Jesus came to this earth full of grace and truth. Christ sometimes, maybe oftentimes, set aside niceness and decorum to go for the heart. In shining a light on the motives behind the deeds of people, some repented and received the good news of the kingdom of God; and, others resisted in order to maintain their illusion of control and superiority.

None could ride the fence with Jesus around. You either loved him or hated him.

The beauty of grace is that when we squarely and uncompromisingly face our sins and let go of things we consider so important, and turn to God with authenticity, we are welcome at his Table.

Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge and confess before you our sinful nature, prone to evil and slow to do good, and all our shortcomings, offenses, and malevolent motives. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from Christ’s way of grace and truth, in wasting your gifts of compassion and justice, and in forgetting your love.

O Lord have mercy on us. We are ashamed and sorry for all the ways we have displeased you. Teach us to hate our errors; cleanse us from our secret faults; and forgive us our sins; for the sake of your dear Son, our Lord. Most holy and loving God help us to live in your light and to walk in your ways according to the commandment of Jesus Christ, our Savior, in the enabling of your blessed Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let Go and Give (Isaiah 58:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (New International Version)

Let Go of the Hypocrisy and Get Real

Isaiah’s prophecy came to a community in conflict. The root of the issue was a hypocritical gap between the people’s conduct and their worship. They wondered why God had not noticed their pious fasting – why their actions before the Lord had gone unseen. Isaiah made it clear that their practice of fasting and their rituals of worship were ineffective because it was all self-serving instead of serving others.

Let Go of the Food and Get Generous

True fasting does not abstain from food just to get noticed (by God and/or others) but has the aim of a generous spirit and a giving heart. Both abstinence and generosity are necessary in the practice of fasting. 

Fasting is a much neglected spiritual practice today, so we need to make sense of the reason to do without food for a set amount of time. Fasting ought to put us in touch with our vulnerability; it should remind us of our mortality and our frailties. That’s why fasting is so often associated with the upcoming season of Lent.

Through fasting we remember that if we are not fed, we will die. Standing before God hungry, we realize that we are dependent creatures in desperate need of the Lord. By fasting, we discern that we are poor, and called to be rich in a way the world does not understand.

We are empty, called to be filled with the fullness of God. We are physically hungry, called to taste the goodness that can be ours in Christ, as we get in touch with a hunger for God.

Fasting, however, does not end with abstinence from food; and it is not merely a private individual thing. The spiritual discipline of fasting is meant to open our eyes and our hearts to the truly needy among us and in the world.  We are to be open to both the spiritual needs of people, and their very real material needs.

“When you see people freezing outside in the frigidity of unbelief, without the warmth of faith, impoverished and homeless, lead them home to the church and clothe them with the work of incorruption, so that, wrapped in the mantle of Christ, they will not remain in the grave.”

St. Jerome (347-430, C.E.)

Isaiah also addresses the very real daily tangible needs of people for the basic necessities of life. The message is this: Fasting is to personally abstain from food in order to provide food for another. 

Let Go of the Ego and Get to Praying & Repenting

Just as abstinence from and provision for food are two sides of the same coin, so fasting and prayer are, as well. We are to stop eating in order to take that time to pray and to give. Letting go of a meal puts the food that would have been eaten into the pantry for the needy. Fasting from lunch at our jobs can be done, not just to get more work accomplished, but so that we might share both our food and our friendship with those in need.

The prophecy of Isaiah has intimate connections between worship, fasting, justice, and reconciliation. They are meant to be a seamless whole, indivisible, enjoying a close bond that makes for powerful and effective ministry. All of this enables us to get back in touch with the real meaning of repentance:

  • To repair a broken relationship with God or with another person
  • To grieve over the reality of a certain situation
  • To devote oneself to service
  • To experience new life and spiritual growth

Isaiah wanted people to repent of both their individual sins and their social sins. Truth be told, we must all deal openly and honestly with our own complicity in the sins of our world, our nation, our church, and our families. The worship that God desires is inescapably corporate as well as compellingly personal. To ensure that all people around us flourish as human beings is both an obligation and a necessity to our collective fulfillment as God’s people.

The result of true fasting is a repentance that produces the fruit of renewal and restoration. Fasting connects us to God, and then leads us to repair and rebuild what has been broken and torn down. 

Let Go of Your “Precious” and Get Committed to God and Others

We fast to practice repentance, attach ourselves to God, and become more generous toward others. In the Lord of the Rings movies, Smeagol was much too attached to the power of the ring; it was his “precious,” and he was willing to do anything not to lose it or let it go.

Yet, we must all decide that we are going to let that precious thing go, at least for a time, whatever it may be. Each year at this time, before Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, I decide in what ways I will practice fasting. In past years, I have abstained from buying certain things or watching TV. This year, however, I am going to do what fasting really is: abstaining from food for a set time. 

For most of the history of the church, Christians were expected to observe regular fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays, every week, year round.  When the season of Lent came, the church was united in their commitment to use the forty days as a time of introspection, confession, and fasting in order to prepare for the miracle of forgiveness on Good Friday and its life-giving power on Easter. It was understood to be a time of confronting sin, purging bad desires, yearning for forgiveness, and developing godly habits of living.   

For me, I think the least I can do is fast two meals a week – one on Wednesday and one on Friday (if not the whole days) to not only be in solidarity with the faithful that have gone before us, but in order to let the season of Lent do what it is intended to do.

I encourage you to consider implementing some sort of regular fast through Lent, if for no other reason, to fulfill the spirit and intent of Isaiah’s message to us so that we all connect deeply with Christ in purposeful Christian living.

Merciful God and Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done – leaving us bereft of good. O Lord, have mercy upon us and restore us according to your grace, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.