Spirituality Without Hypocrisy
Dr. John K. Mathew
In a prayer meeting, a gentleman prayed, "Thank you, Lord, that I am not like other ordinary people. They are robbers, evildoers, and adulterers. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. You can't find a man as gentle as I am, and I forgot to tell you that I am a Pharisee." It was a vain prayer.
Years ago John the Baptist called them a 'brood of vipers' and commanded them to repent and produce fruits in keeping with repentance. Without losing the Spirit of John The Baptist, Jesus said about them, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean" (Matt.23: 27). Does this have any significance in the Christian community today? I would say, it is more significant than ever before.
The Christian community including the Evangelicals, has deteriorated to be a community of 'Do's and 'Don'ts: three days of fasting prayer, four days of convention, and a few other routine spiritual activities wash away all the sins and ridicule other people for their spiritual ignorance. Nothing better than whitewashed tombs.
The following illustration seems fitting. United Parcel Service takes pride in the productivity of its delivery men and women. On an average, a UPS driver delivers four hundred packages a day. The company gets such high productivity, by micromanaging the details of a delivery man's routine. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Robert Frank says, that with a battalion of more than 3000 industrial engineers, the company dictates every task for employees. Drivers must step from their trucks with their right foot, fold their money face-up, and carry packages under their left arm. Those considered slow are accompanied by supervisors, who cajole and prod them with stopwatches and clipboards. Today monitoring becomes easier in a technologically advanced society.
This approach may work well in the package delivery business, but it is a complete failure in the spiritual business.
Spiritual leaders should refrain from these kinds of business strategies or it will lead to legalism. What is legalism? Legalism is measuring spirituality by a list of Do's and Don'ts. Let us practice spirituality without hypocrisy.
