CHRISTIAN HYPOCRISY

CHRISTIAN HYPOCRISY provides Christians one rather different way in which they can assess their own level of hypocrisy. There are probably very few of us with lily-white hands.

There is as much difference between us and ourselves as between us and others."

Michel de Montaigne

"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin."

Andre Berthiaume

"Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is."

- William James, psychologist and philosopher (1842-1910)

This week from Coward's Castle, something different. An exercise for you to do before the Lord in your daily QT.

Write down:

1. How you see yourself.

2. How you PERCEIVE that other people see you.

3. Who you really are.

The first, most of us can do without too much trouble.

The second is a little harder. If one dared, one might ask a few people to write down for us how they see us, and see how well it matches. I think we might be in for a few shocks!

And the last? Well now, that's really hard. It takes spiritual enlightenment to do that, and it's something we should perhaps regularly do before our Lord.

After all, He had the strongest condemnation for those in whom 1 and 3 do not even vaguely match. "By their fruits you shall know them."

"Hypocrisy is the homage which vice pays to virtue."

Francois duc de La Rochefoucauld, (1613-1680)

CHRISTIAN HYPOCRISY

One could go on. Beer is terrible but Coca cola is no problem. The odd clandestine affair is okay, but a faithful homosexual relationship is the height of sin. Drunkness is the height of sin, but glutony and obesity are just fine.

St Paul teaches: The body is the temple of Holy Spirit." I say Amen to that. Whether we eat or drink, are celebat or enjoy sex, how we treat the Sabbath, may everything be as unto the Lord.

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