Being Vs. Looking

Men, if we are honest, we have all tried to look like something we were not. We have all worn a mask at some point that hid who we really were. 

There is a great story in the New Testament book of Acts that reveals two people who wore a mask. They were Ananias and Sapphira and you can read about them in Acts 5:1-11.

This husband and wife pretended they were like others in the early church who sold things and brought the full proceeds to the apostles. The apostles would then distribute the funds to others as people had need. For context, Barnabas did this at the end of Acts 4. 

"Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet." – Acts 4:36 (ESV)

The issue with Ananias and Sapphira was they were pretending to be like Barnabas and others. They likely sold their piece of property and said, "Hey Peter – Barnabas did a great thing, and we wanted to do the same. Here are our full proceeds from the sale of our one-acre piece of ground down the road."

But in reality, they kept some of the money for themselves. And understand, there was nothing wrong with that. What was wrong was they portrayed to everyone that were giving all of the proceeds away. They were pretending. They were lying. They had a mask on. They were being fakes. 

"But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last." – Acts 5:1-5

Just a few verses later, Sapphira is asked about the sale of the property (she didn't know what happened to her husband). When Peter asked her to verify the amount from the sale of their property, she lied – just as her husband Ananias did. She wore a mask also. And her fate was the same as her husband's. 

Both Ananias and Sapphira died because they lied. They were hypocrites, and God took their hypocrisy seriously. And he takes ours seriously as well. 

To be clear, hypocrisy is not falling short of God's standards. That is sin. Consider the apostle Paul. We would not call him a hypocrite. But Paul knew well of his sin. See Romans 7 and his struggle with not doing what he should do, and doing what he should not do. Hypocrisy is a sin, but not all sin is hypocrisy.

Why is that? It helps to understand the meaning of the word. Hypocrisy comes from a Greek word with part of its root being "hupo", which means "under". It referred to someone who would speak from under a mask. 

So a hypocrite was a play-actor…they were a poser…they were a fake. A hypocrite was someone whose life was lived with a costume on. This was Ananias and Sapphira. 

So why talk about hypocrisy? Part of the reason I love Project 200 is that I feel that I can be real. I do not feel the need to fool anyone. I believe I can share a struggle and men will not condemn me, but encourage me. Thankfully, I have felt that same thing within the walls of the church. But that is not always the case for people. 

A pastor once said that Jesus loved a lot of people, but had a real problem with spiritual hypocrites. See Luke 12:1-3 and you will get a flavor of this as Jesus calls out the Pharisees. 

Why is hypocrisy dangerous in the church? First, it leads to a lack of peace. It has to be exhausting to try to maintain something you are not. When will someone find out the real you? It will happen. Secondly, hypocrisy leads to a ruined witness. John Frame has said the following: "Our communication with unbelievers consists not only of what we say, but also of how we live before them. If our life contradicts, then our apologetics is hypocritical and loses credibility." Lastly, hypocrisy leads to a shameful reveal. It is hard to keep living a lie, and your sin will find you out. 

In closing, we all care about our image. If we are honest, we care about what others think about us. That is why we can be tempted to put on a mask and cover up who we really are. 

George MacDonald has a great quote pertaining to this. He says, "Half the misery in the world is caused by people trying to look rather than trying to be." 

How true! Let's put our efforts into trying to be, and I think that will take care of how we look. 

- Mike Greene