Our family often travels on an airline that publicizes ‘transfarency’. I think this airline declares that its fare structure is always transparent, with no hidden charges. Interesting, and quite pleasing to the ears.
How is it in my life? Yours? How synonymous are one’s thoughts, words, and actions? For example, let’s say you listened to a speech or interview. The person said glowing things about their abilities. Later, when it was time to deliver, there were lapses between what they said/promised and what they delivered. They were not transparent.
Jesus uses a strong word for those who are not transparent. It’s a quality no one likes in others but don’t mind it in their own lives. The word is hypocrisy. I suggest you read Matthew 23 and observe why Jesus called some people hypocrites. In His vocabulary, hypocrisy is sin.
So, how does one get rid of the sin of hypocrisy? The late Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis is credited with saying “Sunshine is the best disinfectant.” I think he might have meant that when something is kept in the dark, hidden, secretive, pretentious, or vague, it becomes stale, putrid, infectious, gangrenous, and deadly; Only light and transparency can begin to correct the problem.
What do we do if we know we are hypocrites – knowing our thoughts, words, and actions are not in sync? Here are a few recommendations:
1. Call your hypocrisy a sin.
2. Ask God to forgive you of the sin of hypocrisy in the areas of _________________.
3. Bare your hypocrisy with a trusted and wise friend, asking for help/accountability.
4. Choose, daily, in Jesus, to be whole and not a hypocrite.
Welcome to a life of transparency😊 —
Jeba Moses
Pastor Clifton Sda Cincinnati