The Hypocritical Church

I’ll say it…and even admit to being one at times, but there are a lot of hypocrites in the church. I mean the ones that look down their nose at you and are doing just as much dirt – if not more. I mean the stand in the pulpit but got a mistress and a side chic, embezzling the building funds while preaching about tithing type. OK…I’ve never been that bad. But you get the point. Folks in the church just as lost and sinful as the ones on the street – we just pretend better.

We can have and know the Word but if we, the church, aren’t following it we’re no better than someone who never knew God. We want to act like we have it all together – we don’t. And that should be the last reason why we scold someone else for not living right.  John 8 speaks of a woman caught in adultery. Keyword being “caught.”  We want to point the finger and persecute those whose sins are evident. We feel better highlighting what someone else did. What about us? What about what we did… but didn’t get caught. Her sin was brought before the masses, but how much more do we do behind closed doors?

The crowd is so ready to judge and punish her until Jesus says, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7) Can you imagine the silence that fell over the crowd? Jesus probably sat there and had a sip of tea while he waited. The same people who came to see her stoned had to slowly sneak away – admitting their own guilt.

Imagine if at Sunday’s service, pastor asks for us to confess our sins to the crowd. Let’s be real…we’re not ready. So stop being so ready to throw someone else's dirt in their face. The church should be welcoming to sinners wanting to be saved. What good is a hospital that only admits healthy people? Or a restaurant that only serves full people? The church is for us – those who are inherently sinful wanting to be better.