“Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain.”
Being Christian Means You Practice What you Preach.

“You Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites!”  How many times have you heard this either slung at you personally or in some form or another handed out as a criticism of the Christian faith?  For me it happens all the time when someone finds out I am a member of the Christian Clergy.

 Hypocrisy is defined as the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have.  A hypocrite is a person who pretends to be good, pious or sympathetic without really being so.  In this context it is someone who fails to live by the standards of the Christian faith that they profess – it is failing to practice what you preach; it is pretending that your faith informs your actions when your actions say otherwise.

As a parent I have come to know the hard truth that your children do not listen very well to what you say but they pay very close attention to what you do.  There’s a Kraft Mac & Cheese commercial that has the dad chiding his son for stealing his sister’s macaroni and cheese and when the dad pushes him about how he learned to do such a heinous thing the son shoots back “From watching you!”  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.”

I can understand how people might have this view of Christians being hypocrites: when a famous televangelist is found to be stealing funds, or having an affair, or frequenting prostitutes people see hypocrisy.  When Christians hold up signs at the funerals of soldiers that say “God hates the USA,” “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “God hates gays,” and still talk about the love of God saving you people see hypocrisy.  When a famous Christian leader says that natural disasters which kill hundreds and devastate whole regions are the wrath of God they hear hypocrisy.  When priests sexually abuse children and the church covers it up all the while talking about justice for the powerless they see hypocrisy.  But if you think Christians are hypocritical, that they don’t practice what they preach you might be surprised.  Because for every one of those I just mentioned there are a hundred who try to live authentic lives that honestly reflect their belief in the power of love and justice for all.

The main problem we have as faithful people is that we are shooting for perfection and we always seem to fall short.  It’s like throwing darts or archery or bowling.  Most of us cannot hit the center of the target with every throw or shot or get a strike with every roll.  If we are truly on our game we can do very well but still there will be times we miss the mark.  This is also true with living out our faith and its values and beliefs, we try to practice what we preach in all facets and circumstances of our lives but sometimes we fall short.  It can look like hypocrisy and is if we try to hide our shortcoming, disavow our failure, ignore the miss, or pretend that we hit the mark even though we didn’t.

Today, all around us people are looking for something authentic and real to believe in.  They are looking for authentic and real people they can trust who by their words and actions show that they are trying to live out God’s grace and love and who will honestly admit that they fall short.  People you know; your family and friends, co-workers and classmates, neighbors and acquaintances who know you are a Christian are watching you to see how well you do at hitting the mark and at how well you handle it when you miss.  We who are faithful people must realize that all we do and involve ourselves with must be authentic expressions of our faith, of our belief in a loving God who seeks acceptance, justice and peace for all.

People are searching for authentic and intentional places to belong where they experience others as genuine people who care and who want to put their love and acceptance into practice.  I firmly believe that the Christian faith as I am preaching it and as we are trying to live it is what many people seek.  We need to be willing to live our faith openly and honestly – being authentic and intentional in our life and choices.  St. Francis advised, “Preach the gospel at all times and when needed use words.”

What I am saying about Christianity could also be said about most other religions.  Most faiths profess values and beliefs that are divinely inspired that are compassionate, merciful, just, and loving.  Most adherents to these faiths are trying to hit the mark of their beliefs in their lives and they too are sometimes missing the target.   But what the world needs, what we all need are people of faith living authentic lives that honestly reflect their belief in the power of love and justice for all.  When we practice what we preach, when our actions match our words, when we let the persona of perfection fall away to reveal authentic, flawed, imperfect people striving for perfection in love and service others will see and hear and come to know God.

Christianity is not a faith of hypocrites, it is a faith of imperfect human beings who know they are imperfect but still want to try and live as perfectly as they can the love, acceptance, grace, mercy, compassion and justice of God so that their lives, the lives of others and the world can be transformed into all God dreams it can be.  The prophet Micah tells us what God desires of us, what it means to live faithfully and to be faithful:  “[God] has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?“ (Micah 6:8 NRSV)