Christians are Hypocrites, and I’m a Christian.

By Allen White

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Matthew 23:1-4

None of us is actually as good as we claim to be. After all, what we believe are the things that we actually do. If I say that it’s important to exercise, yet I never exercise, I actually don’t believe what I said. If I say that it’s important to live by Christian values, yet I don’t forgive someone who offends me, then I don’t believe that either, do I?

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that we should abandon all attempts to try new things or to improve. It’s one thing to grow toward something. It’s quite a different thing to say that you live by a standard that you never really intend to live by. This is where the Pharisees lived.

The Pharisees had great expectations for the behavior of others. They just didn’t feel obliged to comply themselves. Their lives were focused on where the rubber meets the air, not where the rubber meets the road. They were all bark, and no bite. They didn’t practice what they preached.

The people who listened to them were ready to challenge the Pharisees to put up or shut up, but Jesus cautioned them. The Pharisees were given authority that was handed down from Moses. They were terrible examples of righteousness. Personally, they were spiritual wrecks. Their lives didn’t command much respect, but their position did.

But, how could they submit themselves to the authority of two-faced, back-biting, lying, corrupt, deceitful, no good, sons of Abraham? By not allowing the Pharisees to hinder them, they submitted to God.

When you can’t control other’s bad behavior, you can control yourself. Your job is not to right every wrong. You are not a superhero. In the midst of rampant disobedience, you can choose to obey. That’s all God wants.

If you choose to fit in with the Christian club, you can actually forfeit fitting in with God. You can follow all of the rules and still lose the game.

Where do you see hypocrisy these days? What are you tempted to do about it? Let me encourage you to give that work over to God. Let your focus remain on obeying God yourself regardless of how you feel or what others are doing.

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Playing a Losing Game

By Allen White

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20

In Jesus’ day, the epitome of righteousness were the Pharisees, a Jewish sect who strictly observed the Law. In the minds of some, they were model Jews. They defined what righteous behavior should look like. They weren’t cut from a different cloth. They just played the game well.

The righteousness of the Pharisees was less about pleasing God and more about fitting into a religious culture. Their efforts weren’t applied to spiritual growth as much as policing the boundaries. A righteous person could neglect his aging parents (Mark 7:10-12), but as long as he didn’t work on the Sabbath, he was still righteous. It was more about fitting in than depending on God. When was the last time you felt completely out of place? Whether you didn’t feel cool enough, or you were awkwardly aware that your manners weren’t up to par, or you simply couldn’t add to the conversation because you didn’t even understand it.  No one likes to feel out of place.

When I was 19 years old, I traveled for36 hours to Hong Kong for a Summer mission trip. While Hong Kong at the time was a British colony and shared a common language, there were many things that I didn’t understand. What I learned quickly was that I should never insult my hosts by refusing anything they offered. They had to save face.

I complied with everything they directed me to do. I tried everything they offered me to eat. But, when the dining began to involved pickled cow intestines at the Korean Barbecue and chicken feet with our Dim Sum, I became wise to the fact that they were just playing with me. I couldn’t call them on it or else they would lose face. But, I also didn’t have to eat with them either. McDonald’s and Denny’s were just down the street.

Human standards always fall below God’s standards. Religion is not meant to elevate people, but to control them and possibly to attempt to control God. A relationship with God allows Him to enter into our world and give us what we can never earn – faith and grace and righteousness.

There is a certain safety in religion. It has a scorecard. Grace is risky. We have immunity regardless of our performance. That’s very hard to reconcile.

Paul Young, the author of The Shack, tells this story:

A man died and went to Heaven. He soon stood before Saint Peter, who asked, “Here’s the deal, in order to get into Heaven you have to have 100 points based on the good things you’ve done on earth.”

The man replied, “Well, I spent the last 30 years caring for the poor, working in soup kitchens, housing and clothing the homeless.”

Peter said, “Okay, I’ll give you a point for that.”

The man was a bit astonished. Thirty years of service only amounted to one point out of 100. He said, “I served as a pastor for 25 years. I counseled the distraught. I performed weddings and funerals. I cared for the needs of my congregation.”

Peter replied, “Okay, I’ll give you another point for that.”

“Two points,” the man thought to himself. “How will I ever get in?”

Just about that time another man walked up and went straight through the pearly gates. The first man turned to Peter rather perplexed and asked, “What about him?”

Peter smirked, “Oh, he doesn’t play this game.”

Stop playing the game. Stop working hard to be someone that you’re not. Be yourself, and let God work on the rest.

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Is God Kind of Selfish?

By Allen White

The Lord says:  “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” Isaiah 29:13-14

Boy, a verse like that makes you want to point a finger and pound a pulpit. But, let’s take a breath and act like these words were spoken to us. Let’s read this passage again:

“The Master said: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it, I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing" (Isaiah 29:13-14, Msg).

God knows when we’re just playing the game. How does He know? He knows everything. He knows our thoughts and our motives. In fact, God understands more about us than we even understand about ourselves.

We might be able to fake it and look pretty good to other people, but it’s not a long-term plan. If the outside doesn’t match the inside, then eventually the whole thing breaks down. If you don’t believe that, then your train wreck is still on its way.

God is a Jealous God (Exodus 34:14). He doesn’t want you to merely serve a coping mechanism. God wants our full devotion. He will do whatever it takes for you to put Him in the center. Why? Is God selfish? Absolutely not. God wants to be in the center of your life because that’s how you were designed to live.

Notice, that God isn’t going to punish you into submission. He is going to “wow” you there. In all of these things that you wrestle with and worry about, God is trying to tell you, “I’ve got it. Don’t worry. Let me blow you away with what I can do for you.”

No one falls in love with someone who scolds them, except for the affection of a few American Idol contestants toward Simon Cowell. You love people who are affectionate and kind and thoughtful. You fall in love with people who go to crazy lengths to demonstrate their love. (Please note: this is not license for stalkers).

God understands you. He isn’t scheming about how He can punish you more so He can win your affection. That’s really kind of sick. God wants to lavish you with His great power and love. Now, you might find yourself in a terrible situation that requires God’s great power, but that doesn’t mean that He has stopped loving you.

What are you doing that your heart is just not in? How are you pretending to be better than what you are? I’m not saying that you should unleash the seething beast that lives just below the surface, but I would encourage you to take that to God and figure out why it’s there.

If you just don’t feel that you desire God these days, I’ve heard a pastor advise his church members to stay away from church services until they want to be there again. When you feel that you can truly worship, and put your head and heart into it, then come back.

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Are You Hope-full or Hope-less?

By Allen White

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Hebrews 7:18-19

The Law is weak and useless because it only leads to hopelessness. The Law defeats, while hope proclaims victory. The Law highlights error. Hope overcomes.

What has ever succeeded in your life that you felt hopeless about? Nothing. It might have succeeded to fail, but nothing positive came from it.

The goal of the Christian journey isn’t to walk with our heads down feeling defeated. That doesn’t mean that we won’t endure difficult things. At the end of every difficult thing, we will also find hope.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:3-5, NLT).

It’s a little hard to believe that we run a better chance of gaining hope from our problems and trials than we do from following the old covenant. We can be right and feel miserable, or we can be completely accepted by God and have hope.

As Rick Warren says, “You can live a month without food. You can live three days without water. You can live a few minutes without oxygen. But, you can’t live a second without hope.”

How’s your hope? Do you find yourself hope-full or hope-less these days? I will leave you today with a blessing from Paul – “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, NLT).

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Guilt is a Poor Motivator

By Allen White

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

Hebrews 7:11-14

The writer of Hebrews is sort of playing with his readers here. If people could live perfect lives, then the priesthood wouldn’t have been necessary. If there is no offense, then there is no redemption. If sin didn’t disrupt their relationship with God, then they didn’t need a priest to mediate for them.

The priesthood of Aaron resulted from the Law (Exodus 28). People would eventually violate the Law and needed some way to atone for their sins. If everyone obeyed the federal, state, county and municipal laws today, then courts would be unnecessary. Jails would be unnecessary. If there were no lawbreakers, there would be no prisoners. If there were no sinners, there would be no sacrifices.

When the people of Israel sinned, they paid the price with an animal sacrifice. The Law dictated that their offense should cost them something. The problem was that the redemption was external. All of the sacrifices in the world couldn’t erase their guilt and shame.

Their religious system was working as well as it could. The Law defined right behavior and the priesthood mediated for wrong behavior. But, as Andy Stanley says, “Your system is perfectly designed to achieve the result you are getting.” As long as the religiously frustrated fell short, business was booming for the priesthood. What they were doing wasn’t getting them to where they wanted to go.

The writer, then, refers to a real, but nearly mythical priest, Melchizedek. Before the Law of Moses, Abraham had paid a tithe to this priest before tithing was even dictated (Genesis 14:18-20). Melchizedek’s priesthood was apart from the Law. The point the writer makes is that Jesus, the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15) also operates outside of the Law. Jesus wasn’t subject to the Law because He lived a perfectly sinless life and fulfilled the Law. The system wasn’t the Savior.

The only thing the Law does for any of us is point out how bad we are (Romans 3:20). For most, this doesn’t lead to a concerted effort to improve. It leads to guilt that typically gets drowned in something somewhere. But, what if our sin and guilt could be removed? What if there was a better way?

Jesus provides that better way. Even Christians live defeated lives because they are ashamed of themselves and of their behavior. Jesus didn’t die so you would be ashamed. Jesus died so you could be free.

None of us is perfect. We all have plenty of room to grow and certainly need improvement. But, God doesn’t work in our lives by reminding us of how terrible we are. God starts with how much He loves us and with His vision for our lives.

Guilt doesn’t motivate anyone toward healthy things. God knows that. That’s why God removes our guilt and shame so we can get on with who He’s called us to be.

What guilt are you carrying today? If you’ve offended someone, then apologize. If you have sinned, repent.  If you think God is mad at you, think again.

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The Burdensome Safety of Rules

By Allen White

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant  I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,

because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,  and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. Hebrews 8:7-13

The Letter to the Hebrews was written to a group of Jewish Christians who considered returning to Judaism and the old covenant. They were a bit unnerved by their newfound freedom and were ready to return to the bondage of the Law. People often find comfort in familiar surroundings.

We are creatures of habit. We park in the same space at work almost daily. We order the same dishes in the same restaurants. We buy the same brand that we’ve used for years. Why re-decide every time? It’s just too much work.

I sit at the same table in the same coffee shop where I write these devotionals. When I came in this morning, only one person was seated in the entire place. He was sitting at my table. But, after a little prayer, he left, and my writing routine was back to normal. (To clarify – my prayer wasn’t for him to leave, though it was my secret ambition.)

Human nature tends toward rules and patterns. Rules are safe. If we never watch television, then we don’t have to avert our eyes when Victoria’s Secret commercials come on. If we never talked, we would never insult someone or tell a lie. If we never ate, then we would never over-eat. But, it’s not that simple is it?

We could choose to avoid alcohol, tobacco or desserts, but we have to eat. If we’re eating something we don’t like, it’s easy to quit. But, if we’re eating something delicious, it’s hard to refuse another helping. And, if we’re stressed out, then it’s easy to dive into a vat of Ben and Jerry’s. But, where and when did our eating interfere with our relationship with God? Where’s the line?

Rules keep things nice and neat. The problem is that life is messy. When the toothpaste doesn’t go back into the tube, sometimes the best thing we can do is to admit that we made a mess.

The old covenant or the Law specialized in pointing out our faults (Romans 3:20). The new covenant offers unconditional acceptance. The Law of Gravity says that what goes up must come done. The new covenant provides a safety net. God’s grace allows for an “oops,” but prevents a splat.

The old covenant placed a burden on people. The new covenant works from the inside out. “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10).

What’s eating at you these days? What is getting the best of you? God will “strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).

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