Hypocrisy.

Luke 12

Warnings and Encouragements

 ¹ Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be^[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ³ What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

 

I have said some stuff in my day that I definitely do not want shouted from the roof of my house.  How about you?  Of course we all have.  Jesus puts us in our place and he encourages us to cling to him and to stay away from the "yeast" of the Pharisees, who were hypocrits.   My counselor once told me that in all his years of counseling teenagers that the one thing that made them most mad at a parent was hypocrisy.  When their parents would tell them not to do something and then turn right around and do it themselves they would get very upset.  I can relate to that.  We all can of course. 

Once, when I was about 13, my Dad caught me smoking. I can remember how afraid I was when he caught me.  I was hiding in our back yard and he silently walked up beside me and asked in very level tone, "What ya doing son?".  I hurriedly snuffed the cigarette and tried to fan away the smoke and answered in a squeaky voice "Nothing".  He moved along side me and I actually remember fearing for my life for a second as he squeezed my shoulder till it hurt me.  Then he began to speak.   Honestly, I don't remember what he said.  I think he tried to put the fear of God in me.  I was quite afraid. My dad had an imposing personality.  He didn't talk long and then he left me alone outside under the stars.  I stood there, confused for quite a while, still churning fromt he emotional aspect of it all.  He had mentioned no punishment.  I wasn't sure what would happen next.  Eventually, and I don't recall how long I was outside, I must have come back inside, though I don't remember anything else about the evening.  The lack of memory indicates that nothing substantial  happened.    

As I think on it, I actually do not recall my Dad ever punishing me for smoking.  The question is why? I am sure now that he knew I was smoking.  I stopped smoking around the house of course but continued to steal his packs of cigarettes from his cartons.  Did he really not notice I was taking his whole packs of cigarettes?  Maybe, he didn't.  Only he knows.  Later, when I turned 18, he told me that he knew I smoked and said I was old enough to do what I wanted and invited me to smoke with him on the back porch.  I was so proud of being a real man at that moment.  

Why do I think he didn't ever punish or rebuke me?  I think now that it was because my dad did not want to be a hypocrit.  I think the feeling of being hypocritical was something my dad wanted to avoid so much that he couldn't bring himself to say anthing to me about smoking.  Of course, there is another issue here for each of us to ponder. 

Right now, I know that there are behaviors I tell my  kids to do or not do and when I think no one is looking I do that very thing myself.  It makes me sick at the  heart sometimes when I think about it now, but often in the moment I justify this behavior with inner thoughts of how it is different rules for me because I'm the adult, etc as nauseam.  But what does Jesus say about this?  Jesus says, "Jon, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees." 

Beware!  The words bring up "Beware of dog!" imagery in my mind.  Why does Jesus use such a strong word here?  It's obvious by now.

If I am not willing to address a sin in my life I better not beat my kids up over it.  What I need to do is pull the plank out of my own eye and then help my kids with their problem.   

God, I know you have forgiven me of all my past, present, and future sins by your blood shed on the cross.  I don't want to be a hypocrit with my children.  Make it clear to me when I am being hypocritcal with others.  Help me to avoid sin and have you remove any habitual sins from my life.   Amen