Hypocrite

Hypocrite

February 21, 2024

• The MerriamWebster.com definition of “hypocrite” is as follows:

1: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

2: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

That resource describes “judgmental” in this way:

2: characterized by a tendency to judge harshly

• Likewise, “false face” is:

: a caricature of human or animal features that is made of cloth, plaster, or similar material and worn over the face: mask

I’ve subscribed to a platform called Medium where I have published some 400 essays since 2022. On it I make no money nor gain any fame. Neither have ever been my purpose. Nevertheless, it is an unrestricted free-for-all with a tumultuous collection of a variety of topics, unedited compositions often with radically oppositional authors.

Readers can “clap”, “respond,” and/or “follow.” Thus, in those options, there are egocentric rewards as to the number of “claps” given for a composition. Ten people can give a hundred “claps.” This is the same ridiculous process as The Voice when the public gets to vote on their favorite singer, which is that people can vote as many times as the clock allows to keep on pressing that button. So, a girl from a small town can be up against it when competing against a big city boy. It’s stupid. It is not a true representation of talent but a facade masking the truth.

Actors and actresses of today have perfected the art of facial and voice inflection to the point they don’t need to wear masks for the audience to get the picture. This is off topic, but their personal problems, if any, can be the result of playing so many different characters that their own personalities and minds are lost in the mix. No wonder that their relationships can often have difficulties!

Moving up the ladder of the definitions I have quoted, everybody can mask their emotions and often do it to be polite… or not … “It’s My Party” by American singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, for example, illustrates someone removing that mask.

Men and women dress up for certain occasions from parties to job interviews to the first day of school — even in the Social realms, the ragged look of Hippies and Grunge, the macabre look of Goth, and the distinguished look of the Madison Avenue Executive, all are masks. I see nothing particularly wrong with dressing a certain way, but it is a temporary costume.

Why do you and I wear masks? Why mascara? Why talk with a different accent? Why dress up? Aren’t these to give others a good impression and for us to fit in? Absolutely nothing wrong with that — best foot forward and all. A different impression of our ordinary selves? Nothing wrong with that either… It usually is an act of respect. That is actually commendable.

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” — Proverbs 8:14.

However, when we are hiding behind fig leaves, hiding hurts or anger or resentment, that can be very unhealthy. When our masks become “a false appearance of virtue or religion” or when it becomes an act of deception “in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings,” when we are contradicting our true convictions or our true character, then, it can become counterproductive and even become antisocial and isolating — both very unhealthy.

Sooner or later the real you will emerge. Why fake it?

This has been a rather long way around town to get to Main and First… What I have often found in responses to my essays are strident, narrow-minded, and prejudiced grievances, often unrelated to or mischaracterizing what I have written.

I am often tempted to rudely respond, “Did you even read what I wrote?”

I have found that any topics relating positively to God, Jesus, and the Bible are disparaged with responses that are visceral, robotic, and routine patterns that even seem like standardized, routine, and preconceived gadgetry.

Now, one of my favorite gadgets is “Christians are too judgmental.” (I always want to set aside the body politic and just say “right back at ya.”)

It is just silly to judge someone in a condemning way for being too judgemental — the appropriate adage being “the pot calling the kettle black.”

Maybe dumping on others is a salve for some, but there is a fly stinking up that ointment… I have a developing theory that when people lash out, it is because of hurt within them, maybe deep and long ago or shallow and worn on their shirtsleeves… but it is still some sort of resentment that masks the real issue, that everyone everywhere who has ever lived or will ever live, needs what Jesus has in store for their benefit.

God doesn’t need us. God wants us. And we need Him even when we say we neither want Him or need Him. You must understand that in the Bible “sin” means we are “causing hurt and harm to ourselves or to others.”

That’s why the Bible says that God hates sin…

God hates sin, because He loves us.

God so loved us that He sent Jesus for our rescue — even though Jesus had to submit to an excruciating, torturous death to accomplish His mission… Please don’t get hung up on that as a mystery…

Reach out to Jesus because He is reaching out to you.