Why I'm a hypocrite

This post is dedicated to all of God's children who have been bewildered at one time or another by the following statement: "The church is full of hypocrites." In order to satisfy my conscience I must humbly admit that ,if the Church is full of hypocrites, then I myself must be in that category. You don't believe me? Confession time. I can not even count how many times I have passed judgement on people who like to gossip and criticize others when I myself have done the same thing. To make it even worse, often the very people whom I consider the worst at passing judgment on others are often the people I love to pass judgment on when talking about them to other people. If that is not hypocrisy, I don't know what is.

I think it is rather amusing that, in our culture, the title of "hypocrite" is so nefarious that most would rather be called a liar, a thief, or a coward than to be called a "hypocrite." I imagine there are some who would rather be called a murderer or a child molester than a "hypocrite." The assumption is that hypocrisy is a rare sin reserved for the most despicable of the human race. Even for most Christians, I bet it would come as a real shocker if I said the Bible teaches that there is an inner hypocrite in all of us.

Here is God's indictment on the human condition. Read carefully. You may find yourself described in this statement: "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. " (Romans 2:1)

Therefore I am in full agreement with the statement "the Church is full of "hypocrites." But I say, why stop there? Isn't it further true that the entire world, both inside and outside the Church, is full of hypocrites? The Church is full of hypocrites precisely because the Church is full of people. The problem with most people is not hypocrisy, but blindess to hypocrisy. Jesus said "If you were blind you would have no sin, but now you say 'we see' therefore, your sin remains." According to Jesus, the problem with man is that he thinks so highly of himself that he fails to see that he is blind. If find it interesting that the very people who throw the "hypocrite" accusation against Christians often see themselves as morally superior to the ones they are accusing. Now that's blindness. Or should I call it....hypocrisy?