Most senior adults – in other words, people anywhere near my age – will remember the old TV show, The Lone Ranger. He, and his sidekick Tonto, would show up in town when law and order was threatened and handle the situation. At the end of each show as he saddled up and rode out of town, someone would say, “Who is that masked man?” In the distance you would hear him say, “Hi ho, Silver…away!”
The only masks I have seen anyone wear in the last several years were worn by children who knocked on my front door at Halloween to say, “Trick or treat!” Jesus warned those of us who are His followers against hiding behind a mask, pretending to be someone other than who we are. The word He used was “hypocrisy.” In warning us against hypocrisy He was saying, “Don’t hide behind a mask. Be real.”
Luke’s Gospel tells us, “When a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12:1). Yeast is a rising agent. In the Bible it is always symbolic of evil. Hypocrisy works in secret with penetrating power, starting small and working its way through our lives. It is easy to rationalize a sinful act, telling ourselves it is just one time, but it then leads to other things.
Hypocrisy is futile and foolish, and Jesus explained why: “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs” (Luke 12:2-3).
Simply put, there are no secrets with God. Whatever we try to hide will surface one day. The Pharisees were more concerned about their reputation than with their character. This says to us as Christians that what other people think about us is not as important as what God knows about us. He is not impressed by our outward display of “being religious”. He considers what we are inside (see Luke 11:39).
Are you putting on a good front while harboring sin in your life? Maybe the sin is something you are doing – participating in pornography, an adulterous relationship, or some other wrong behavior. Or maybe it is an attitude – bitterness, envy, anger, jealousy, forgiveness, or something else. Whatever it is, remember that God knows. He loves you and wants to help you overcome. As you confess your sin to Him and become willing to turn from it, He will forgive you and give you strength to overcome.
Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who might have made it through an intersection as the traffic light was turning red, but stopped at the crosswalk. A tailgating woman behind him slammed on her brakes, dropping her cell phone and makeup. She furiously began honking her horn, screaming in frustration, because she had missed a chance to get through the intersection. As she was in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up to see the face of very serious police officer.
He ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched and fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours she was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal affects. He said, “I’m sorry for the mistake. When I pulled up behind your car, you were blowing your horn, making lewd gestures at the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose life’ plate holder, the ‘Follow me to Sunday School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk . . .I naturally assumed you had stolen the car.”
Ask yourself, “Am I just a Sunday morning Christian?”
The Paper Pulpit 