Her Last Christmas

I know eavesdropping isn't considered proper, but what I overheard wasn't whispering--it was loud.  The speaker wasn't trying to keep any secrets.  It happened in one of the big bookstores.  I was seated in one of those chairs they provide at the end of the shelving, minding my own business, browsing a book, when I heard a young woman telling her friend, "I told my mom this is my last Christmas," and something to the effect that she wasn't going to "do this anymore".

I couldn't help wondering what this was about.  The two young ladies were in the religion aisle, and when they passed me a few moments later, I saw the speaker carrying the book she'd chosen to buy:  Buddhism for Dummies.  My heart sank. I felt sick.  Why was she determined to find a religion not associated with Jesus?  What had He done to offend her?  I began wondering what she would say if He asked her.

I've talked to more people than I can keep track of who have all expressed the same thing.  "Hypocrites.  Hypocrites. Hypocrites," is why they've turned their backs on God.  Somebody who claimed to be a Christian disappointed them.  But what did Jesus personally do to offend them?  Nothing.  I found out they have almost no idea who He is or what He said or did.  My heart is breaking when I can't help but think that some serious decision-making is going on without all the facts.

The fact is:  Jesus was so passionately outspoken about the horrors of hypocrisy that the religious leaders of His day were infuriated with Him.  Here's just a tiny sampling of what He said about hypocrisy, this recorded in Matthew chapter 23, ". . . Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one convert; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. . . . you have neglected justice and mercy and faithfulness. . . You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. . . . You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell? . . ."

If you've ever thought of giving up on God over hypocrites, don't put your walking shoes on just yet.  You may be pleasantly surprised to know that hating hypocrisy doesn't put you at odds with Jesus; it puts you on His side.  He would invite you to stick around. You may find out you like Jesus a whole lot more than you thought.

As always, I invite you to make yourself at home in the Welcome and Why Unsmotherable Delight pages using the tabs above.