By Spencer Clark
We are really good at putting on a show. Indeed, our culture rewards those who excel at seeming to have everything together or appear to be a good person. One glimpse into the dysfunctional lives of so-called celebrities and influencers illustrates perfectly the false veil of greatness such “stars” actually have. We use our outward appearance, behavior, mannerisms, and words to conceal what is much less presentable in hopes that people will like us. We are afraid of revealing weakness and sin because of the stigma attached to them in our religious culture (despite what the Scriptures instruct in James 5:16). Combine this with pride and selfrighteousness, we are left with a dangerous result that Jesus had a few words to say about.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of doing this very thing. He said, “You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and selfindulgence” (Matt. 23:25) and a few verses later, “You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So, you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (23:27-28).
We serve a God who cares about our heart and actions rather than our outward appearances or how we are viewed in society (1 Sam 16:7). It is by this standard that God selected kings, prophets, and apostles who served Him faithfully against others who may have “appeared to be” a better fit. That Jesus’s own ministry focused on sinners, rather than the “righteous,” undoubtedly surprised and offended many of the religious elite. As followers of Christ, we must avoid developing a false persona that conceals an interior life that is inconsistent with the Gospel. Jesus wants us to clean the inside so that our outside may be genuinely clean (Matt. 23:26). Else, we may find ourselves on the receiving end of some of Jesus’s harshest “woes” and accusations of hypocrisy.