Avoid the Mask of Hypocrisy (Friday, Week 23, Year 2)

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A certain man was telling his friends that he does not eat dog meat. A few days later one of those people he told that he does not eat dog meat found him in a company of dog meat eaters shredding the meat with his teeth. You can imagine how disappointed the person who caught him was! “I thought you said that you don’t eat dog meat”, he asked. And the man quickly replied, “I am using my teeth to divide it for my children”. This illustration clearly brings about the damning effect of hypocrisy. 

Another story is told about a pastor who was always preaching against divorce. He experienced the worst exodus of people from his church when he sent his wife packing. Hypocrisy is spiritually destructive. Saying one thing and doing another always has a chilling demoralizing effect on those who listen to us. 

That is why St Paul was bold to say that “he is doomed if he does not preach the gospel. But as long as he engages in this task, he also makes sure that he pummels his body, he disciplines himself, and he desists from running aimlessly, from boxing as one beating the air. Lest after preaching to others he himself should be disqualified” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16-19.22b-27). Simply, what St Paul was telling the Corinthians is: “I am not a hypocrite. Don’t think I say and do not do what I say. I also discipline myself to observe all that I preach, not just for your own sake, but for my salvation as well”.    

Just as Jesus was saying in the gospel reading (cf. Luke 6:39-42), a hypocrite is like a blind person trying to lead another blind person. Both will surely fall into a ditch. What it means is that hypocrisy surely leads to a disastrous end. The hypocrite destroys himself and ends up mortgaging the salvation of those who listen to him. To be efficient in preaching the gospel, let us endeavor to dismantle and uproot those vicious logs of wood in our eyes so that we can see clearly to take out few specks from other people’s eyes. Words can inspire and expire! But words accompanied by examples have more power to draw and convert. Let us heed St Francis of Assisi telling us to preach always but use words if necessary. 



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