Hypocrisy

I am mentally and physically tired. Some of that is because I just returned from a trip down south to clean out my mother’s personal effects from her and my stepdad's house. 

On the way home I heard the news about the storming of the Capital Building in Washington, D.C. and I was horrified. In fact, as I started to read reactions to it I had to just turn off all news and social media. It was a despicable act that occurred and it sickens me.

However, the thing that upsets me more is the hypocrisy that I see coming from people. And it saddens me that people just can't see it. The definition of hypocrisy is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.

It's especially disheartening when Christians are doing it. I have seen posts by Christians calling the other side "morons" or making derogatory statements about those who vote differently. And yes, I see it from those who aren't Christians, but we are held to a different standard.

Since when is our faith grounded in a political party? We should be showing the world what it means to be a Christ-follower, not a president or senator-follower. Since when is it okay to not take the mandates in scripture about loving others as yourself seriously when it comes to politics?

I have friends and family who are Republicans and those who are Democrats. Some lean hard right and some hard left. Some are in the middle. I'm in the middle somewhere. But more importantly than how I vote is my treatment of other people. If I say I follow Christ but then I'm tearing apart another person, I'm a hypocrite. There is no argument against this. God's words are clear.

Most of the car ride down to North Carolina and back I listened to podcasts on leadership. The few things I gleaned from listening was the need for wise leaders who do not react impulsively either with their words or their actions. The world is looking for people who are calm, intelligent, and inspire confidence. Spouting off on social media does not reflect any of these things.

This doesn't just apply to world leaders, but to leaders in our churches, our businesses, and our families. We need leaders who guide with thoughtful direction and leaders who can calmly and intelligently talk about these things with people from a variety of viewpoints. Can we disagree and yet do it in a calm and biblical manner? I believe so.

My prayer is that in my leadership roles I would exemplify those things I mentioned above. The leaders I've always admired and tried to emulate were the ones who were calm, thoughtful, intelligent and true to their words and faith. The world does not need another hypocrite!