Lent Day 18- Don’t be a hypocritical Christian.
I read a headline a few weeks back featuring Pope Francis. While I am no longer Catholic – this Pope, I like him a lot more than the last guy. He has more of a lay it on the table approach.
While I won’t be running back to the Catholic church anytime soon, I hope the Pope continues to be more vocal on his love all stance. The headline that caught my attention was this:
Pope suggests it’s better to be an atheist than a bad Christian
That’s a headline, right? This definitely got my attention.
Don’t Be a Hypocritical Christian
So what is a hypocritical Christian? Well, this from All About God on Christian hypocrisy has some great points, this in particular struck me:
Hypocrisy is “claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense.
Things to note about hypocrisy (from All About God):
- Christian is called to grow in faith and progress to being more like Christ. This doesn’t always happen instantly.
- A Christian is called to live a life of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12). Be intentional about letting God change your heart.
While yes, Christians shouldn’t be hypocritical – it takes time to grow in faith and grace.
Pope Francis Quotes on Hypocritical Christians
Here are a few quotes from Pope Francis (ex-Catholic – here) in regards to Christians and hypocrisy:
“To be a Christian means to do: to do the will of God — and on the last day — because all of us we will have one — that day what shall the Lord ask us? Will He say: ‘What you have said about me?’ No. He shall ask us about the things we did.”
“Here I am, Lord! … I went to Church, I was close to you, I belong to this association, I did this… Don’t you remember all the offerings I made?”
To which Jesus may reply, according to the Pope: “Yes, I remember. The offerings, I remember them: All dirty. All stolen from the poor. I don’t know you.’ That will be Jesus’ response to these scandalous people who live a double life.”
Judging the Hypocrites
Because at the end of the day – who are we to judge who the hypocrites versus the righteous? Not us. Just Jesus.