Hypocrisy
August 19, 2008
One of the things that most irritated me about Obama’s chat with Rick Warren was listening to him speak compassionately about how America would be a better place if only we heeded Jesus’ words to care for ‘the least of these.’
Do the unborn not also count among ‘the least of these’? Yet Obama contends that if one of his daughters ‘makes a mistake’ (ie, gets pregnant), she should not be ‘punished’ with a baby. So much for the least of these.
Then it dawned on me that I am every bit as much a hypocrite as Barack Obama is. Haven’t I also quoted, memorized, preached on, passages of Scripture which I fail to live out consistently in my daily life? Don’t I preach that God gives sleep to His children, yet grumble when Halle isn’t sleeping well?
I cannot say whether Barack Obama is really in Christ or not. But I am so grateful God has counted righteous the hypocritical writer of this blog post, not because of the consistency of my life, but because of the perfect obedience of Jesus.
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Larry,
True; but there is a big difference. You are assuming the attitude of the publican, crying ,”Have mercy on me, a sinner!”–in this very post–while Obama at Saddleback assumed the attitude of the Pharisee, valuing tradition and the wisdom of man over mercy. He distorts Scripture because he is spiritually blind; you are not spiritually blind, as Christ has opened your eyes. Credit for this difference goes to the work of Christ alone within you. While you may act hypocritically, his fruit bears witness that he is a hypocrite in his very nature. Christ is not a hypocrite, so neither are you, at least from God’s perspective. He sees only the righteousness of Christ! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
As I listened to portions of his answer, I thought of the Pharisee to whom Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It says in Luke 10:29, “But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” I heard in that man someone who wished to justify himself, and it made me shudder. You do not seek to justify yourself: Christ has shown you your inability to justify yourself. It’s an important difference, a distinction that Jesus made again and again in the Gospels.
Will
I see what you are saying. I was only trying to make the point that in God’s eyes, self-righteousness is just as ugly as murdering babies.
That was a lesson I needed to learn, and I constantly need to be reminded of.
Larry,
That’s a lesson that I need to learn more every day; what a blessing, because the very learning of the lesson brings me to the Gospel! It destroys my self-righteousness and gives me the only righteousness that is sufficient, that of Christ. I am more sure every day that my own righteousness cannot save me, yet I behave more frequently as if it can. Thank you, Father, that you have shown me, and continue to show me, such mercy!
I only wish the Christianity presented by Obama–and Warren, for that matter–had offered that mercy, especially considering the viewing audience that forum had!
Thank you Larry for your post on this. Politics seems to bring out the self-righteousness in me like almost nothing else, so I think I’ll ignore the news for awhile!
When are you doing a forum with the candidates at our church?
Will