Matthew 23
Christianity is no longer welcome by the public in our country. Many people do not hide their disrespect to Christ and Christians. What made them turn against Christianity? The list will be long. But the most common item on the list is Christians’ hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy has a distinctive feature that makes it unique among different kinds of self-contradictions. A hypocrite presents oneself as good by word but acts otherwise. Simply put, an evil person declares himself good.
The name Christian implies the person entrusts his life to Christ Jesus and accepts and follows his teachings. Of course, the name Christian does not guarantee that a person will be perfect in Christian virtues. However, when the person declares his Christian identity, he suggests that he should act accordingly. But, if he acts otherwise, he betrays not only his word but the expectations of others. He will bring a scandal and cause disgust for others.
Does this happen rarely? I hope you don’t find yourselves hypocritical. But I often fall short of what I preach and teach. The name Christian is a lofty claim for a man. I should take this title very seriously. Let us remind ourselves that we may tarnish the name of Christ when we don’t live up to our commitment as Christians. Hypocrisy not only exposes one’s spiritual deficiency and dysfunction but also injures Christ’s mystical body, the Church.
