Keeping up appearances

“I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” ~ Gandhi

“Men and brethren, if you pray at all, pray God to make you real, through and
through.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

I am a fan of BBC television and enjoy their sitcoms, dramas and mystery programs. Maybe it’s the accent or possibly it’s that they tend to have a more cerebral bent to their entertainment. Maybe it’s because American sitcoms and dramas are too predictable, formulaic or infantile in their story development. Before I give you the false impression that I am an elitist PBS snob, keep in mind that I am drawn to their comedy programming that can at times be too irreverent and down right bawdy. With this in mind I have to be careful not to laugh or approve of what is not pure, and good and right.

One show that my wife introduced me to is Keeping Up Appearances starring Patricia Routledge as the social-climbing snob and eccentric Hyacinth Bucket, (pronounced bouquet by Hyacinth but bucket by everyone else.) Hyacinth is constantly trying to give the impression that she is a woman of class and dignity, and loves to name-drop when she sniffs an opportunity to impress. She constantly attempts to visit stately homes and host candlelight suppers. Her goal is to impress her neighbors, friends and of course “important” people. Her efforts are thwarted however by her ne’er do well sisters Daisy and Rose, as well as Daisy’s “bone-idle” husband Onslow. She is constantly trying to avoid them at all costs, but they tend to show up at the most inopportune moments. Hyacinth frequently tells her beleaguered husband; "Richard, you know I love my family, but that's no reason why I should have to acknowledge them in broad daylight!" Sadly, everyone goes to great lengths to avoid that horrid “Bucket woman” and they find her company insufferable.

During my teen years I regularly attended an Independent Baptist church. One thing that I found particularly vexing was when various members of the church would act one way on Sundays but completely different the other six days of the week and I used this as a rationalization to dampen my commitment. Call it what you want; inconsistent, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou or a “poser”. There are many terms used to describe what everyone commonly calls hypocrisy. As a matter of fact a common objection used by non-church attendees, or those not part of a Gospel believing community is that they will not attend church because it is full of hypocrites. In his book “The Ten Most Common Objections to Christianity” author Alex McFarland lists this accusation in his top ten. While his book focuses primarily on refuting straw men and baseless objections to faith in Christ, he readily concedes that this objection is sadly true. McFarland states; “Many Christians – perhaps all Christians are hypocrites. We don’t live up to our highest aspirations for ourselves. And we certainly don’t live up to the standard that God set for us in Scripture, or the standard that Jesus lived.” As much as I want to deny it, I am guilty as charged. In the infamous words of Walt Kelly’s Pogo; We have met the enemy and he is us.

What exactly is hypocrisy and how is it defined? Merriam Webster states; “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially: the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.” Our modern English word actually comes directly from the Greek hypokritēs which is found in the New Testament of the Bible. In the original Greek the word is defined as an actor, stage player or pretender. The word itself is found in the Bible over 30 times and in most instances it is uttered by Jesus Christ to confront the “religious.” So while Christians may bristle at statements made by the likes of Gandhi, the stark reality is that we would do well to humbly acknowledge the bitter truth of his commentary of those claiming to be “of Christ.”

The key issue for observers of the church is what Steve Wilkens and Mark Sanford describe in their book Hidden Worldviews as that of confessional beliefs and convictional beliefs. They state that confessional beliefs are ideas that remain exclusively on the intellectual level versus convictional beliefs that are reflected in our actions. Basically we have great intentions but we fail to live up to the Gospel we proclaim. The watching world doesn’t care so much what we say, but what we do. If we are just half as good of a Christian as we think or try to convince others we are, then we wouldn’t have needed Christ’s perfect sacrifice. If that statement offends you then maybe you do not truly understand the Gospel.

Wilkens and Sanford rightly state “Christians often find it much easier to talk a good game by reciting the right creeds and embracing the proper doctrinal statements than to actually live by the principles embodied in them.” When we are accused of being inconsistent or hypocrites maybe our response should be one of humility and self reflection rather than lashing back with “I know you are but what am I!?!” Could it be that people claiming to be changed by the Gospel need to humbly acknowledge that we battle with hypocritical attitudes and actions? Is our lack of humility a stumbling block to the beauty of the Gospel? Even if the accusation is baseless how we respond can open or close the door to the opportunity to reflect Christ.

But with that being said, my inconsistency or hypocrisy does not prove or disprove the truth of Christianity. And whether other belief systems want to acknowledge the elephant in the room the fact of the matter is that Christianity has not cornered the market on hypocrisy. In many cases using the excuse that you won’t go to church because it is full of hypocrites or pointing out inconsistency in the lives of others is simply a crafty canard to shift attention from the matter at hand; where are we spiritually? It is a red herring meant to throw a dog off the scent. A red herring is a rhetorical or literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance; in this case the message of the Gospel. When it is employed it usually is a means of deception, loaded words or a false emphasis to confuse or throw someone off their game. But it is not simply a tactic that is used by those not part of a Gospel believing community. It is also used by Christians against their peers and leaders to rationalize away a lack of personal zeal for the Gospel. I should know…I have employed it myself.

Are Christians inconsistent and hypocrites at times? Absolutely, but so are “non-Christians.” Turn on your TV or look in your mirror and like charity, hypocrisy begins at home. We tell our kids to tell the truth but we tell “white lies” at work or to our spouses. We talk about civility and respect but secretly tear down or demonize people that don’t share our ideology. We rail against “fat cat politicians” or the Wall Street elite taking advantage of the little guy yet we don’t help the homeless, soup kitchens or food pantries. We exhort our children to be nice to others but cut people off on the highway or race for the free parking spot. Or perhaps we believe in karma and hope for “divine retribution” for those who do what we deem is reprehensible, but of course it only applies to those who don’t share our particular political stance or world-view. The “non-Christian” is also prone to confessional beliefs that are not convictional.

A prime example of “do what I say…” is the Hollywood community. They preach the “religion of Green” but their carbon footprint dwarfs small countries. Actors and producers own multiple homes and typically don’t fly commercial. They have award shows ad nauseum, and the cost to host and produce these banquets could fund multiple homeless families. And when is the last time you saw them pull up in a Prius stretch limousine? Yet Hollywood takes great pleasure in depicting anyone of faith as a charlatan or harboring ill intent. It is simply “freaking pointing” or trotting out the worst offenders rather than acknowledging this is the exception rather than the rule.

Wilkens and Sanford point out that; “Christians are not the only people susceptible to incongruity (or hypocrisy, if you prefer that word). In extreme circumstances, scientific naturalists may find themselves in prayer to God. A moral relativist may live as if universal moral standards do exist.” They go on to say that “a bedrock belief for moral relativism is that no universally valid moral principles exist. However, a second relativist conviction is that we should be tolerant of those whose moral views differ from ours. The glaring contradiction here is that the demand for tolerance by all and for all is a moral standard that is inconsistent with the relativist’s claim that no universal moral standards exist.” If there are no moral absolutes then we shouldn’t get mad if the bank or employer shorts our check, if someone cuts us off in traffic or someone betrays a confidence. It’s all relative. I guess the adage of people that live in glass houses doesn’t apply.

I could go on with examples like a neo-Darwinist that believes in natural selection or “survival of the fittest” but fights for endangered species or against genocide in Darfur. We want ethics violations prosecuted to the full extent of the law for “the opposition”, but we believe in second chances or forgive and forget for those we support. Or consider the inconsistency of those fighting for animal rights or vegans while wearing leather shoes, wool clothing and using personal hygiene products made from animal byproducts. All of these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. To get away from hypocrisy we might run off and live in a cave, but that would fail because we would still be there.

In Romans 2 the apostle Paul warns that in passing judgment on others we condemn ourselves. The sobering thing about this passage and the previous chapter is that if God’s standard is ignored then we will be judged by our own standard which we are not even able to keep. The inconsistency we despise will be our ultimate undoing. Are church goers hypocrites? Yes, but we could use some more so why don’t you join us? We can bemoan the hypocrisy we see in others but in the end we each will have to individually give an answer to the question what did we do with Jesus? What did we do with the truth of the Gospel? Blaming the inconsistency of others will not hold up in the court of God.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ pretense can kill our witness. If we are inconsistent or hypocritical we need to humbly acknowledge that we do fail and look to the Gospel again and again. Don’t pretend or try to give the impression of living out the Gospel, but strive through the power of the Holy Spirit to be a sweet smelling savor, a bouquet and not an old bucket in the nostrils of God. Don’t just keep up appearances. Strive to be a reflection of Christ.

“For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” ~ 1 Peter 2:20-21