IS YOUR “TALK” AND “WALK” SYCHRONIZED?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about
you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts
are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are
merely human rules.”
(Matthew 15:7-9)

MEDITATION:
“Hypocrite!” – This is probably the worst word anyone could use when
referring to a ‘religious’ person. It means the person is dishonest and
only gives ‘lip service’ regarding their faith. We know that God hates
dishonesty, so He cannot stand hypocrisy. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t
love the person, but He certainly doesn’t like what they are doing.

We see it all the time, don’t we? Some people will say,
    “Let me know if you need me for anything”,
but whenever we ask them, they often give us excuses
as to why they cannot follow through with their offer.

Wouldn’t we feel better about it, if the person would just help
us without offering their help? If we need someone to help us,
we would much rather see them show up to help, than for them
to offer to help, but when we really need them, they say something
like,
    “I would really like to help you, but
      I have something I need to do today”

Normally we don’t ask them what that ‘something’ is, but
sometimes we find out later that what they HAD to do, was
really something they WANTED to do, and the truth is, they
were not willing to sacrifice it so they could help us.

Genuine commitment usually involves sacrificing our own desires
because we consider something, or someone else more important.
Hypocrisy has the same flavor as broken promises. Although some
people may feel good about themselves when they offer to help (but
only if it is convenient for them), they are often considered unreliable
by others.

We may not say anything to them, but it’s easy for us (and others)
to know when they are ‘playing word games’, because their actions
don’t support what they say.

It is the same with those who claim to love the Lord but refuse to
show their love as He demands it. Jesus can see through this veil
of deception, and so can His Father. They both know when we are
‘playing at Christianity’ but are not ‘fully committed’.

Jesus was very blunt when He said that people honor Him with their
lips, but not with their hearts. Jesus knows that if we honor Him with
our hearts, we will honor Him on His terms, and not by something
we have concocted that makes us feel good and gives us an excuse
for not sacrificing our own desires for Him.

Jesus said that these types of people are worshipping Him in vain!
They have created their own form of worship which means nothing!
If we say that we love the Lord, but refuse to worship Him in His way,
then we are following ‘human rules’ instead of obeying His will.

When folks are fully committed to worldly things, they will sometimes
use the phrase, “I’m all in!”. It means they are holding nothing back.
They are promising to follow through with whatever is expected of
them without any excuses, or justifications.

Jesus tells us how He and God will know if we
are ‘all in’ to follow and obey the Lord.
    Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your
    heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
    (Matthew 22:37)

Who knows what selfish desires are preventing ‘lip service believers’
from obeying the Lord, but we know Jesus has said that if we claim
to have faith, but choose to disobey, then ‘our hearts are far from
Him’, and we are ‘hypocrites’ in His eyes.

If we find ourselves making excuses or justifying the things we do,
it is probably because we know we are doing something wrong, or
not doing something we should be doing, wouldn’t you agree? In
other words, we have created our own form of worship which has
become a replacement for what God expects and commands of us.

Look at what Jesus says about those
who choose their own form of worship.
    “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
      kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of
      my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that
      day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and
      in your name drive out demons and in your name perform
      many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew
      you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
      (Matthew 7:21-23)

Read what Jesus said to perhaps the biggest hypocrites of His day,
the Pharisees. In Matthew 23, He called them hypocrites – not once,
not twice, but seven times! They were religious people putting on a
big show for others to see, but God could read their hearts. He knew
they were not committed believers because,
    ‘their hearts were far from Him’.

ACTION:
How would others evaluate your commitment to faith and obedience?
Would they say things like,
    “He/She tells me they have faith, but the things they do
      are contrary to how God’s Word defines a Christian”

    “How can I believe they are followers of Christ if I can’t
      see any evidence of the characteristics of Jesus in the
      way they are living?”

    “When I ask them about the things they do or say that I
      wouldn’t expect of Jesus, they will justify their actions,
      or make excuses for them. There are times when they
      will even get angry, which also conflicts with the type
      of demeanor Jesus had – He was kind, humble, loving
      and gentle.”

Of course, others can’t see us at all times,
so the questions we should ask ourselves are:
    “What does God think about my faith and obedience?”

    “Would God be pleased that I am obediently following
      His definition of faith and worship, or would He be
      disappointed to see me doing other things to please myself?”

    “Would He call me,
       ‘a faithful and dedicated servant’ or ‘a hypocrite’?”

We should never forget that when we claim to be followers of
Christ, our lifestyle becomes our testimony to others. If we are
doing (or not doing) anything that doesn’t align with what God
expects of those who belong to Him, then we need to make some
changes so we will not be the cause of a lost person missing out
on Heaven.

We need to be honest with ourselves and face the reality that
our selfish desires will always be in opposition to what God
expects of us. We are either going to be under the control of
the Lord, or ourselves (which means we are influenced by Satan).

How do we handle this conflict? Do we continue justifying or
making excuses for our behavior, or do we sacrifice ‘self’ for
the Lord, and live the way He expects and commands us to live?

The devil is content to let us profess Christianity as long
as we don’t practice it. We shouldn’t allow him to have
any control of our life which could result in our hearing
the Lord say to us on the day of judgment,
    “Away from me you evildoer, I never knew you!”

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to live my life daily by
Your standards and expectations. Forgive me if I
have created my own definition of worship instead
of obeying You. I repent of this now, and I want to
start following You completely. Help me to always
give You top priority in my life and to stop letting
my selfish desires prevent me from obeying You.
Teach me that the way I live my life is my testimony
to others of the sincerity of my faith and commitment
to You.”

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