A person can claim to be anything that they want, but does that automatically make them what they claim? Imagine that you walk into a grocery store one day and a man walks up to you and tells you that he is the best at something, but when you put him to the test he completely fails the very thing he claimed he was the best at.
But some people just love to have the appearance that they are smart, and that they know things that you don’t know, or that they are better. This feeling will sometimes manifest itself in a person when they see someone else fail at something, and cause them to be filled with pride and say, “No, no, no. This is how you do it.” When in fact they themselves can’t do it correctly.
That is called hypocrisy, and it means “the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another.” Which leads up to the verse passage for today.
Luke 6:39-42 “And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.”
Like a person trying to instruct somebody else how to do something when they themselves have no clue what they are talking about. Trying to act like you have everything all figured out, like you don’t have any problems, and that you think you can tell others how to fix their own issues, while being blind to the fact that you have just as big of a problem to work on.
A different way of putting it is if you have two people who each have, say for example, a drug addiction. If they are both addicts, how could one of them help the other to overcome the addiction if they themselves can’t?
We are called to exhort and encourage others to defeat the sinful urges and temptations that everyone goes through, to be certain. But to actually help someone we first need to correct ourselves first.
Romans 2:21-23 “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?”
To help someone find their way through the dark you need to have a flashlight. If you don’t you both will be blind. That is why we need to be filled with the light of Christ. Jesus is the Light, and as children of light we need to live as an example to others how a Christian lives.
Matthew 5:14-16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
We need to be able to diagnose and fix our own problems first. We need to correct our own mistakes first. It is like our bodies are locked in a jail cell of sin. To help someone get out of their cell you need to get the key to unlock your own cell first. Because once you have that key you will be able to unlock all of the others as well.
As a former Pharisee, the apostle Paul went through a great change in his life. Once a persecuted of the faith, he went through an amazing transition and became a champion of the faith that he once sought to destroy. Readily admitting that he was a sinner, “the chief of sinners,” Paul went through that change, and because of that he was able to help others with their shortcomings.
So, look to yourself. What do you need to fix? What sins do you need to overcome? Once you have answered and completed those questions then go and help others, so then you won’t be a hypocrite.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 