There’s Always Room for One More
A Texas rancher met up with a Wisconsin dairy farmer. The two men began talking about their land and the milkman told the cattleman that he operated his business on 125 acres. The Texan scoffed at such a small parcel of land. He said, "Yankee, that ain’t nothin’. On my ranch I can get in my truck at sunrise and I won’t reach the fence line of my property until sunset." The dairy farmer snorted, "Yeah, I used to have a truck like that."
* "Panorama of Parenting," Howard Hendricks, Dallas Theological Seminary, T42PEY
Everybody wants to impress others, want to be seen as successful, or better than others. They want the newest car, biggest house, nicest clothes, or the most land. They want to be the lead dog. This desire to be first or be the best or be admired has another name: pride. God tells us what He thinks about people who want to be first. The “first will be last and the last will be first.”
Just like many people today, the Pharisees wanted others to see them as special and treat them as though they are closer to God than anyone else. They wanted others to be impressed with their piety and holiness. They were chest thumpers who said, “Hey, look at me! Look at how important I am! See how broad my phylacteries are and how long my fringes are?”
Now, phylacteries were small leather boxes containing portions of God’s Word and they were worn by Jews who interpreted literally the instructions to fasten God’s Word on their hands and forehead. And Moses, in Numbers 15, had instructed the children of Israel to put fringes on their garments to remember, not only the law in general, but also the smaller parts of the rites and ceremonies belonging to it.
So the Pharisees made their phylacteries broad, that is, they put more writing on them or made the letters larger and thus more visible, to appear more holy. And they made their fringes longer to show how much more they followed the finer points of the law, therefore making them “holier than thou”.
I’m sure they didn’t like it one bit when Jesus pointed out how these men dressed to draw attention to themselves to put themselves on a higher level than others. They wanted to appear religious without actually being religious. “…for they do not practice what they teach.” Their philosophy was, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
These men thought they were important to God, they thought they were important to men, but they were just a bunch of hypocrites.
A man, returning from a business trip, was met at the airport by his wife. They walked from the gate together and were standing waiting for the baggage to be unloaded. An extremely attractive stewardess walked by. Suddenly, the man came to life. Beaming, he said to the stewardess, "I hope we can fly together again, Miss Jones."
His wife asked, "How come you knew the name of that stewardess?" The man replied smoothly, "Well dear, her name was posted up front in the plane, right under the names of the pilot and co-pilot." To which the wife replied, "Okay, so what were the names of the pilot and co-pilot?" BUSTED! The man’s hypocrisy was uncovered.
Jesus spent a great deal of time uncovering the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. He told his followers, "Do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice as they teach."
A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something he/she isn’t. I’m sure we all know people like that. I heard a story told of a man who, when asked by a pastor why he didn’t come to church with his family, replied, “Because the church is filled with hypocrites.” To which the pastor responded, “That’s okay. There’s always room for one more.” I don’t know if that is a true story or if the man ever went to that or any other church.
But it does beg the questions, “Are there hypocrites in our churches today? Are there ‘Pharisees’ today that wear broad phylacteries and long fringes? Are there people in our churches today that say one thing on Sunday and do another thing on Monday?”
The answer to these questions is yes, YES, and YES! Of course there are people that don’t practice what they preach; who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. We know that nobody’s perfect, that we’re just sinners saved by grace, but some people don’t even try!
We, as Christians (i.e. “religious people”), are always under a microscope. Are we living a life worthy of being called a “child of God”? Or are we just “a bunch of hypocrites”? Who are we trying to impress?
Francois Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher. King Louis demanded, "What does this mean?" Fenelon replied, "I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king."
Are we trying to impress others with our clothes? We like to dress up on Sunday – suit/tie, dresses, big diamond earrings and other expensive jewelry – so others will be impressed. Our pride has taken over. Who are we kidding?
And it’s not just clothes. Scripture tells us in verse 7 that the Pharisees “…love…to have the people call them rabbi.” They have special clothes and love being put up on a pedestal by being called rabbi. We have people like that today who are impressed with titles and make sure that everyone knows what their title is. They wear it like a badge of honor: The Right Reverend, Doctor, Father. And they sport a bunch of letters after their name: Ph.D., M.D., SUV, BLT, etc.
It’s all about ego. They like when others view them the way they view themselves. They like when people refer to them by their titles. The Right Reverend Doctor So-and-So, Phd., M.Div. They’re chests puff out and they start strutting around like a peacock, all important.
A local church asked it’s members to donate money for a new building. The building committee made one stipulation: no plaques or recognition of any kind would be placed in the building to honor the givers. The response was mediocre at best. When the committee withdrew their requirement and allowed for a memorial registry with a listing of donors, the money was easily raised. What had changed? At first, the building committee was appealing solely to people’s charity and generosity. Later, they offered an appeal to their egos, and the egos won.
Michael Duduit, The Abingdon Preaching Annual 1999, Nashville: Abingdon, 1998, 349.
These egotists want their names on a plaque so it would be known to others what a great thing they had done. There’s a saying about an egotist that “His head’s so big it can’t fit through the door”.
Balloon Illustration- Blow it up.
Of course these donors don’t want others to know that they never gave a penny till they found out there would be a plaque noting their “wonderful generosity”. You see, hypocrites don’t like being found out. They don’t like others knowing the truth about them. They’re more concerned with their appearance before people than God.
A pompous-looking deacon was trying to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me a Christian?" the man asked. After a moment’s pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it’s because they don’t know you."
And when they do find out who you really are (pop balloon), Then the ego is deflated, the pride shattered, and the hypocrisy is exposed.
Pride and our egos cause us to become hypocrites. And that hurts us. And it hurts our relationships with others. We pretend to be somebody we’re not because of pride. We try to hide who we really are. ("I don’t have any problems! My life is perfect! I don’t make mistakes! ) Our pride and egos won’t allow us to be real. We’re too ashamed to admit we’re not better than everybody else.
I came to realize a long time ago that I’m the best in the world at one thing and one thing only. I’m not the best preacher. I’m not the best father. I’m not the best singer. I’m not the best writer. I’m not the best at remembering people’s names. I’m not the best golfer. I’m the best at one thing and that is being myself. Nobody can be me better than me.
And with me, what you see is what you get. Some of you may, at times, not like what you see. But I feel we have enough hypocrites in the world today: politicians, athletes, and yes, even clergy. You and I have absolutely nothing to gain by pretending to be what we’re not.
Sure we may, like the Pharisees, be able to fool other men and be looked up to. But to what gain? That and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee. I’m more concerned, and I hope you are too, with being honest with God and pleasing Him more than other people.
We can’t fool God. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “..the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” God sees through our pretending and posturing like a squeaky clean window. Our broad phylacteries and long fringes do not impress God. We need to be less concerned with titles, clothes, and who we can impress, and concentrate more on coming before God in humility, knowing that, without His grace, we are nothing. “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Let us, in humility, come before God in prayer:
