“In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12:1-5, ESV)
We hear a lot from people regarding religion and hypocrisy. It is true that there are those who are religious people who are hypocrites. There are also a lot of non-religious people who are hypocrites. While the definition of a hypocrite is often far too broad, the word means: to present one face when you really wear another.
Jesus talks about the need to understand that, no matter what face we show to those around us, God knows our true face. God knows the one we show in the dark when we think nobody else can see. He knows the things that we say behind people’s backs that are the opposite of what we politely say to their faces. He will judge us for those things; nothing will remain secret.
We must work diligently in our lives to ensure that we are truly the people of God that we want others to think we are. Masks will not work, neither will lies and deception. They will not fool God. The only way we will succeed before God is to genuinely be what God desires in his servants. Anything less will fail.