Hypocrisy, Sanctification & John Travolta

Hypocrisy is a funny thing. It’s one of the few contagious diseases I know of where the sicker you are, the better you look. It’s like the old John Travolta movie where he became a super genius, able to read and recall facts instantly, learn languages in minutes, and predict natural disasters. Turns out that it was all due to a deadly brain tumor.

Hypocrisy is a funny thing. It’s one of the few contagious diseases I know of where the sicker you are, the better you look. It’s like the old John Travolta movie where he became a super genius, able to read and recall facts instantly, learn languages in minutes, and predict natural disasters. Turns out that it was all due to a deadly brain tumor.

While Travolta was a brainiac, he seemed better than he ever was. He certainly was more useful to his community–fixing things, saving lives, helping with whatever they needed. He was a hero in both small and big ways, someone to look up to. On the outside, he’d never been better. On the inside, death was taking over.

Hypocrisy’s the same. It beckons us with the promise of being useful, of looking better, of being a role model on the outside. “This sanctification stuff is too much work,” it says, “just do what you need to do in public, then do what you want to do in private.” Suddenly, the burden of being conformed to Christ is lifted. The weight of transformation and self-discipline and patience is gone. You can have it all, and have it now. It hardly costs you a thing…on the outside.

On the inside, hypocrisy has a high price tag: the brain-tumor-death-taking-over kind of price tag. While you look useful and admirable on the outside, darkness creeps in like a shadow mist on the inside. It changes the way you see things, do things, want things. The isolation of a double life cuts you off from authentic relationships and you have to hold people at arm’s length. You begin to judge others by their behavior and encouraging others to do the same. Your pride swells as they fall short of the standard you’ve created.

You’ve stopped seeing as God sees; you’ve stopped doing as He’d have you to do. Your heart and will are no longer aligned with His, and you’re not abiding in Christ. But you think you’re getting away with it. And horizontally, you might for a while. Other Christ-followers may not see what’s really going on, but your real Audience isn’t fooled.

From God’s perspective, it’s easy to see what’s going on, and He’s not impressed by a dark heart producing “good” works. And in the end, He puts His vantage point on display. I think people living at this time understand that better than any other time in the world. Everything’s recorded, photographed, posted. Any old email could be forwarded or archived. Your blog’s not private, those pictures on Facebook beam around the globe, Youtube funnels an audience to your most embarrassing moment. Everything is public consumption, whether now or in eternity.

The answer is counter-intuitive (at least to the world). I keep reminding myself: stop acting good. Stop trying to present your Super Self as your real self. To paraphrase an old professor of mine, stop being conformed to other people and start being conformed to Christ. Renew your mind, soak up Scripture, pray for a transformation of the heart. Then, when good works come, they will come from the inside out, with sincerity and faith.