When I was at the University of Missouri I enjoyed playing pick-up basketball. Our rec center held multiple courts, and games went on morning to night. Several friends from my dorm and I played most every day. Over lunch one afternoon a new kid touted his basketball abilities. In fact, he claimed to have played a game in high school against our university’s All-American center and held him to a season low. We walked to the gym later that day excited to add a talented player to our gang of hoopsters.

It only took a trip or two down the court to realize our new friend stunk at basketball. He could hardly dribble. He flung the ball and clanged it off the backboard. He guarded his opponent like a matador, swinging out of the way. Absolutely ridiculous. We ungraciously called him out for his story of high school stardom (remember, college guys carry few filters). He lost the invite to join us ever again.

Why did we blow up in frustration? The kid claimed to be something he was not. He was a hypocrite. He bragged and bragged, but failed to back up his claims. The sad part is that if he would have just said, I’m not very good, but I like playing basketball, he would have fit right in. Lots of guys at the rec center weren’t any good, but they never claimed to shut down All-Americans.

I avoid hypocrites as much as possible, and most everyone feels the same way. Even King David wrote, I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites.

Hypocrite = actor. The same root leads to both words. While I enjoy actors on stage or screen, I don’t want to live with false people in my day-to-day. A hypocrite displays concern but their heart is elsewhere. A hypocrite says one thing and does another.

A hypocrite, when discovered, loses trust and rarely gains it back.

In my experience, the religious hypocrite turns people off to faith in Jesus more than anything else. Which is why it’s so important to avoid that role (easier said than done). We all carry a whiff of the hypocritical.

I’m at my best when I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal hypocritical ways within me, and then take care to match my pontificating with how I play the game.

Psalm 26 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Tom Briskey