by Benjamin Lloyd

Created on: May 21, 2009   Last Updated: May 22, 2009

Mention the term hypocrite and most people will automatically get religion on the brain. They understand hypocrites to be Christians who don't act the way they should, or non-Christians who act like Christians in order to impress others.

Therefore, many people use the hypocrite as a scapegoat for not going to church. There's just too many hypocrites in the church. If you let a hypocrite come between you and God, then that hypocrite is closer to God than you are. Think about it. We're all hypocrites to some degree until we get saved.

So, what is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a fake, a pretender, someone who pretends to be what they really aren't, or someone who acts totally different when other people are around. I see nothing in this definition that states hypocrites are solely for the religious world.

There are hypocrites in the marketplace, hypocrites driving beside us every day. There are hypocrites in the business world, and certainly there are hypocrites in the political world. The world is full of hypocrites.

So why do so many people associate hypocrisy with churchgoers? Because it makes for a great excuse not to attend church. "Well, if that's what being a Christian is like, then I don't want to hang around them." "Those hypocrites just give us real Christians a bad name." They say you must be smaller than what you hide behind. If you hide behind a hypocrite, you are in essence smaller than the hypocrite.

So, why do we not let the real hypocrites stop us from our other daily activities, such as driving, shopping, or doing business with others?

Take the highway for example. Drivers are supposed to read the license book, take the test, and know the laws of the road and obey them. Once they get their License, most drivers ignore what they read or know. They speed. They run red lights. They do not yield when required. They do not come to a complete stop at all times. Etcetera etcetera. They are hypocrites. Yet we do not let that stop us from driving next to them on a daily basis. The highway hypocrites won't stop us, but the religious hypocrites will.

Another example is in the marketplace. Restaurants especially. Their menus often have these colorful, mouth watering pictures on them, but the food on your plate looks and tastes like cardboard. The waitress says, "I'll be back in just a minute with soime more tea." Ten minutes later, she still hasn't made it back. (P.S. She's out back smoking a cigarette.) Yet we still eat out at restaurants. We won't let the restaurant hypocrites stop us from eating, but we will let the religious hypocrites stop us from attending church.

And don't even get me started on the political hypocrites. I would be writing for weeks.

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