Towering Hypocrisy
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 11:27-12:3
Hypocrisy is mostly an attempt to hide one's true self. We pretend to be what we are not, who we are not. Whether we are trying to convince others or ourselves may be too difficult to determine. What is sure is that eventually, truth will out. Truth will out to others as truth is already visible before God. We may try to portray ourselves as more righteous than we are, but growth only comes when we can face the limitations and failures we reckon with on a daily basis. When our hypocrisy becomes a huge tower over our inner lives, should we not fear it crashing down even more?
Jesus was making quite a splash in Judea, Galilee, and outlying areas. Today's passage takes us to an earlier time in his ministry, with the themes discussed further embellished in his final few days. The crowds near the beginning of his ministry were becoming a bit of a problem, as an easy distraction from what Jesus was intent on accomplishing. Early on, he issued warnings as to the hypocrisy of the self-righteous who attempted to cover their inner reality. Secrets will eventually be exposed. Knowing that should affect our words and actions if we are concerned with image.
While Jesus addressed the hypocrisy of the self-righteous, some wanted to know about particular people whose suffering rose above the norm. Were they being punished by God? We've all heard such claims writing off entire populations as suffering God's judgment through hurricane, earthquake, disease, or some other calamity. False prophets making claims akin to Pat Robertson's are a dime a dozen. Do we believe those who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers were the worst sinners in New York City? Do we think for a minute the four girls killed Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church were of lesser worth than those who planted the bombs?
Jesus called that kind of thinking bogus, extensions of our hypocrisy and self-righteous attitudes. Its portrait of God i ...
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 11:27-12:3
Hypocrisy is mostly an attempt to hide one's true self. We pretend to be what we are not, who we are not. Whether we are trying to convince others or ourselves may be too difficult to determine. What is sure is that eventually, truth will out. Truth will out to others as truth is already visible before God. We may try to portray ourselves as more righteous than we are, but growth only comes when we can face the limitations and failures we reckon with on a daily basis. When our hypocrisy becomes a huge tower over our inner lives, should we not fear it crashing down even more?
Jesus was making quite a splash in Judea, Galilee, and outlying areas. Today's passage takes us to an earlier time in his ministry, with the themes discussed further embellished in his final few days. The crowds near the beginning of his ministry were becoming a bit of a problem, as an easy distraction from what Jesus was intent on accomplishing. Early on, he issued warnings as to the hypocrisy of the self-righteous who attempted to cover their inner reality. Secrets will eventually be exposed. Knowing that should affect our words and actions if we are concerned with image.
While Jesus addressed the hypocrisy of the self-righteous, some wanted to know about particular people whose suffering rose above the norm. Were they being punished by God? We've all heard such claims writing off entire populations as suffering God's judgment through hurricane, earthquake, disease, or some other calamity. False prophets making claims akin to Pat Robertson's are a dime a dozen. Do we believe those who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers were the worst sinners in New York City? Do we think for a minute the four girls killed Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church were of lesser worth than those who planted the bombs?
Jesus called that kind of thinking bogus, extensions of our hypocrisy and self-righteous attitudes. Its portrait of God i ...
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