Are You a Hypocrite?

“Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye.”- Matthew 7:3-5

Have you ever noticed what someone else does and cannot believe what they are doing and tell yourself that you will never do that and then you do the same thing? If so, then you might be a hypocrite. Jesus exposes a lot of hypocrisy in the Bible. In Matthew 7:3-5, Jesus mentions that everyone has the tendency to see faults in others and not in themselves.

There were religious groups in the Bible known as the Pharisees and Scribes that were recognized by Jesus as hypocrites. He told a parable about them in Luke 18:9-14 calling them hypocrites because they did not notice their own sins but only sins of others. They were doing it with an evil intent of judgment and believed they were better than the tax collectors, but they were not because they never repented or acknowledged their own sins.

It is just as easy for Christians to fall into hypocrisy because we are sinners and can struggle with pride (Jeremiah 17:9). Christians have God and Jesus to help them from becoming hypocrites. There are dangers of becoming a hypocrite, it can lead to judging others, being prideful like the Pharisees and Scribes, or being jealous. We need to first look at our own faults before seeing and criticizing them in others.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

Help us to recognize if we are acting like hypocrites. Being a hypocrite is not holy because we are judging others with an evil intent. Help us not to think we are better than others because it can lead to evil actions that can hurt others or us. We want to also pray for people who are struggling with hypocrisy so You can help them. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!