A popular definition of hypocrisy is a variation on the theme of “do as I say but not as I do.” Simply put, people who say one thing and do another.
This is not how Jesus presents hypocrisy in The Sermon on the Mount. For Jesus, hypocrites do the right thing. Hypocrites …
- Help the poor.
- Say their prayers.
- Acknowledge their utter dependence upon God through fasting.
Jesus says hypocrites do the right thing for the wrong reason.
Matthew 6:1 (ESV) begins, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
However, in the same speech (Matthew 5:16, ESV), Jesus said, in the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
How can you visit the sick or feed the hungry without being seen? Should leading others in prayer be done behind a curtain with a disguised voice? No. Good works are often public events. Good works are visible.
The difference is who benefits and who gets the credit.
- Do others receive real benefit and does God get the credit?
- Or do you get a dopamine hit in your brain and a pat on the back.
Hypocrites use religious practices as a mask, pretending to be on the outside something they are not on the inside. Motives really do matter.
