The Death of Hypocrisy
Psalm 17:15: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness.
There has yet to be a hypocrite who has not at one time or another confronted the face of their foolishness in the mirror. They need no help in realizing their dishonesty when their soul is laid bare, for deep down beyond the public denials masked as sincerity, they detest the doublemindedness of the choices of their hearts as much as all those around them. It is obvious that no one likes a hypocrite. But the secret admission only made to mirrors darkened by the shadows of their sins is how much the hypocrite despises themselves and their choices. They are fully aware that their lives are being spent on a cause made hopeless by their motivations- themselves. If they truly cared for themselves they would find a deeper reason to live- for the sake of One who never compromises.
The hypocrite has no depth. They are at best a shallow reservoir of good intentions; at worst, an ocean of blatant efforts to injure others. And they will often defend themselves with the most paltry or dishonest of excuses, something that on the surface sounds satisfactory, but when observed more deeply, it is easy to see that they are as weak as the excuses they employ. Publicly the hypocrite may seemingly go unpunished. How amazing their ability to seemingly escape the consequences of their unfaithful choices. How surprising what a well-timed smile and positive tone of voice will gloss over. There is a reason false prophets and hypocrites are condemned in the same breath in the Bible: neither is true to his word or the Word and are among the last to be trusted in a long line of liars. Outwardly they may be pleasant in appearance but inwardly they are ravening wolves starving for the truth while letting it rot- even if they know the path they should walk in.
For me a smile is a badge of honor that is not to be worn cheaply. The price of my smile was paid with scars by the Savior who gives it and my life meaning. I have a friend whose smile would shame any hypocrite’s effort to feign happiness. In her smile I see no guile but the very beauty of Christ. Her eye is single and therefore full of light- just as I want mine to be.
I hate every evidence of hypocrisy in me, every moment my mind is duplicitous and I don’t apply my heart to the wisdom of God. And I will never be satisfied unless He is my heart’s treasure. When I awake with only my likeness, I am not content. I want people to see Christ in my smile, to see a joy beyond the hopelessness of this world and the depression that filled my life for so long. I am without excuse as I have known the truth of God’s Word all of my life. I have been deemed at different times as both hideous and attractive, yet neither satisfy. I have been both mocked and well-liked, sometimes even by the same person. I have been humiliated and humbled, even in the same day. And I have known enough loneliness to last two lifetimes. Yet there is a loneliness that only comes when the mirror of God’s Word reminds me that change is needed as my actions have betrayed not only my intentions but my words. But the Lord is faithful to admonish me that this life, though temporary, is of eternal importance and His desire to redeem my choices has not been overtaken by my failings.
Hypocrisy is a poison that hurts more than I intended. It is a way of living as if lies could supersede the Truth. But as with all sin, it cannot produce any good. Hypocrisy is choices made in my strength for only my benefit illuminated for all the world to see. It is me showing all what I am apart from Christ: a portrait of a tortured soul. It is my heart playing false prophet declaring peace when there is none. It is a dangerous game no one can win, neither the hypocrite nor those infected by it. It is a doubleminded man living with half his heart and calling it good enough. Sooner or later though, he is forced to admit neither he nor God is satisfied by the inconsistent choices he has made. The truth cannot set me free if I don’t acknowledge it or let it overtake me.
Where is the breathing, living faith in a hypocrite’s heart? Where on his face is the beauty of the One who cannot lie? A life lived with half a heart is not a life worth living. But when I turn from me and to Him, when my eyes reflect His, and I renounce my wicked ways, yet again grace takes on a deeper meaning as He takes my heart in His hands and begins to again shape it to look more like His. As I let Him perform this operation, I begin to awaken from the slumber of my complacency (undoubtedly a bedfellow of hypocrisy) and behold His face in righteousness and again see His likeness in my life. Once more I see His grace has never forgotten my name even when my heart ignored His. To live with all of my heart only for Him in His strength is to know the death of hypocrisy in me. Only then am I fully alive and finally satisfied. Let it be so, Lord Jesus.