The Pot And The Kettle
By John Hendrix
It is commonly reported that Christians—or those at this or that congregation—are judgmental, self-righteous and hypocritical. No doubt this problem exists in many places. It has always existed. Jesus rebuked those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” (Luke 18:9) The Lord had little patience with the Pharisees who were hypocrites: pretending to be righteous while being, in fact, very wicked (Luke 11:39). The Lord was also very upset with those who presumed to make up commandments and then condemned people for violating them (Matthew 15:3-9).
We all should take an unflinching assessment of ourselves. Am I judgmental, self-righteous and hypocritical? I doubt that even the worst find it easy to admit this about themselves. We should test our own actions and attitudes: do we think little of our own sins while talking unceasingly about the sins of others? Do we behave one way around Christians and another around others? Do we find forgiveness difficult?
Hypocritical attitudes and actions are certainly sinful and do a lot of damage to the name of Christ on earth.
Jesus was not only speaking to hypocrites, however, when He said,
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)
It occurs to me that I might be condemning myself when I am quick with the charge of hypocrisy.
Let us take a look at my congregation.
There are those who show that they do not know a lot about the Bible. There are those who seem less spiritually minded than they should. There are those who do things—openly—that I think a Christian should not do.
Perhaps I am being judgmental. Perhaps I am not remembering my own sin and my own need for forgiveness. Perhaps I see no room for improvement in myself. Perhaps I have invented things to condemn others about.
The risk is real, and I should pray for help in defeating these sinful attitudes in my heart.
But there may be another group in my congregation. These people seem to know a lot about the Bible. They are often preaching or teaching Bible classes. They lead singing and prayer. They talk about sin, and I know that they are talking about me. They think that they are “a cut above” most of the rest of us.
But I have seen them sin! Oh, they sing loud on Sunday morning, but they struggled just as much as I with sin on Saturday night. Maybe harder!
They say I should not do this or that, but they do bad things too! Who appointed them to look after me? (Well, let us forget about Galatians 6:1 for now.)
Perhaps I am being judgmental. Perhaps they are very troubled about their sins. If I asked them, they might even ask me to pray for them. Perhaps the only reason they talk to me about my faults is because they love me and want me to go to heaven.
The risk that I have misjudged them is real, and I should pray for help in defeating these sinful attitudes in my heart.
For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. (1 Corinthians 11:31)
Maybe the key to my salvation—after Jesus’ blood—is my focus on my own attitudes and actions. I can be judgmental against one person as well as another. If I am looking down on others for being “not good enough” I can also prejudge those who might, in fact, be better than I.
If you think your congregation is full of judgmental hypocrites, maybe you should look at yourself.