day 209 "Hypocrites will always be exposed for who they are; God will not be mocked."

Day 209 Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I have heard it said that "ignorance is bliss" and, in actuality, this may be one of those cases where this statement could actually be true. You see, God has much more mercy on those who do not know the truth than He does on those who know the truth yet purpose to ignore or disobey it. Quite often, when Jesus says that there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, He is doing so at the same time; He is warning against being hypocritical and the punishment that awaits those who are. One thing that is for certain, our God will not be mocked. He is God and He will have His day, especially by those who openly profess Him as Lord. Over the years, I have witnessed many a man who has openly professed their position and belief in Christ only to watch as their so-called hidden sin becomes exposed and they are reduced to utter humility. So why is it that the Lord of all creation takes such great offense to those who speak one way openly and act another in private? Why not leave them to their own demise? Surely there are more important things for Him to take care of, right? While, yes, there are many other things for God to tend to, He does take hypocrisy seriously and for good reason. By the way, God is not limited on what He can accomplish or limited in the number of tasks He can perform. Anyhow, back to the point, those who practice hypocrisy are literally mocking God; they assume that they can get away with their secret behavior as if God wouldn't know. They minimize the power of God in their minds; they reduce Him to a human type form as if they somehow have control over how much or what He can do. By doing so, they influence others to develop the same mindset; they are people under the influence of a prideful and rebellious spirit, not much unlike the same spirit that caused satan to leave heaven and attempt to place himself above God. I realize this may sound harsh and even offensive to some; however, let me take this a little further. What is the number one argument of pre-believers? More often than not, the thing we hear most from pre-believers is that Christians are hypocrites. We say we are honorable and to be trusted, and yet we are all too often swayed by greed, lust, or other sin just as quickly or quicker than the pre-believers. This behavior and reputation has long left a bitter taste in the mouths of those seeking an excuse to discount the power of our God by exposing the weakness of our flesh. In their minds, if we cannot contain our flesh after our so-called conversion, then we are simply liars, mocking our God who doesn't even have the power to stop us. Sound harsh? It is. Do I believe this to be true? In most cases, I would say, absolutely and unfortunately, yes. So what do we do about all of this you ask? First of all, we heed the warning, we avoid double talk, we live a life that glorifies God, and we never try to convince people of how strong a Christian we are. We simply live a life worthy of His praise and let our actions speak as to who we are in Him. Secondly, we help others who have fallen into this trap, those who have been deceived into believing the lie; we show our brothers the better way; and, if that doesn't work, we confront them in love (Matthew18). And when pre-believers use hypocrites as their excuse, we remind them that Christians are not perfect; we are, however, forgiven. Daily Prayer: Father, please help me to not be deceived into a hypocritical lifestyle. Teach me, Lord, how to lead the deceived to redemption and the lost to the savior. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "Hypocrites will always be exposed for who they are; God will not be mocked." Gene Burroughs, Pastor