“I’ll start going to church when you get all the hypocrites out.”
Ouch. I well remember the conversation in which this was said to me. The man who spoke these words was older. He’d lived a full but hard life. He wasn’t necessarily hostile to God, but he certainly was hostile to the concept of “church” as he understood it.
I don’t remember how I responded to him. I’m sure it wasn’t anything profound. But I’ve thought about his words a lot since then. In many ways, he’s not wrong. The church is full of hypocrites. But I’d argue that’s only because the world is full of hypocrites too.
The word itself is one of those fun English words like photosynthesis or metamorphosis where we took a Greek word and just gave it our best definition. In Ancient Greece, a “hypocrite” was an actor in a play. And unlike much of modern acting, there was little in the way of costuming and special effects. There was typically just a simple mask that obscured the identity of the wearer.
The word comes to take on a negative connotation through the teaching of Jesus. He used the term to call out individuals who were purposefully putting on a show (often a religious show) to impress other people. But before we get too high and mighty, it’s important to think about why this would happen. Often, a sincerely devout Jew would feel enormous pressure (both within and without) to comply with certain kinds of religious behavior – hand washing, tithing, clothing, morality. And so, they would comply with the things that other people could see. But in their internal world and private life (that other people couldn’t see) they were…less than compliant. Jesus’ point was not necessarily that they needed to stop doing things like hand washing, but that they needed to be consistent and real in their daily life. They needed to take off the mask and let people see them as they truly were.
The problem with masks is that they are a method of self-protection. If people reject my mask, well, it’s just a mask. But if people reject me? The real me? What’s left then?
The real tragedy is that the opposite is also true. If people approve of my mask, well, it’s just a mask. Bruce McNichol writes, “No one told me that when I wear a mask, only my mask receives love.”
So today, our simple invitation is this: take off the mask. To God, yourself, and other people, take off the mask. It’s better to be real than right. And allow yourself to receive the love you so desperately need.
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This article first appeared in the print edition of the Kingsport Times News in August 2024. The only other commentary I'll share is that this idea is so foundationally important for a healthy life. I only have about 400 words in the paper, but this deserves 4000 at least. Fundamentally, this unmasking is the fruit of the Gospel. It is the invitation to step into a Kingdom where you can live in accordance with reality - flaws and all. And there find Love and real Freedom.
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