“Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship…where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead. True worship must include inward feelings that reflect the worth of God’s glory. If it were not so, the word ‘hypocrisy’ would have no meaning.” John Piper
It was Piper’s last sentence which caused me to pause. Specifically, it was the word ‘hypocrisy.’ It seemed important to connect the absence of inward feelings with hypocrisy.
Defining hypocrisy is simple. Anyone involved with any church anywhere knows the definition: It’s when a person pretends to be something he isn’t. Not like in modern society when men pretend to be women, or a high school student suddenly announces she is a cat.
Hypocrisy deals with pretending to possess high moral ground when your life reflects nothing of the high moral ground. Christians are frequently accused of being hypocrites. Kind of comes with the territory. Deal with it.
That’s because we Believers are hypocrites. Much like non-Believers, Believers are unable to live perfectly according to the commandments of God. However, I would rather be a Christian accused of hypocrisy than a non-Christian who might never be called a hypocrite.
But what is Piper pointing to?
It begins with how a Believer views his Lord. Suppose you viewed God as the Lawgiver and nothing more. You examine His laws and decide they collectively point to a high standard of moral conduct. So you sign up.
You go to church, and a well-meaning lady comes up to you and exclaims, “Don’t you just love God?”
You vaguely remember some commandment about loving God. Was it in Do-to-Ronny? Or was it in Jerry-minor?
In any case, it was a commandment you ignored. Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and body seemed a bit much. You’d just stick to obeying the one about being humble. Humility fits you to a “T.”
As years pass, you show up in church fairly regularly. Each time, you put some bills in the offering plate. When things so awry, you do some praying. After the church service, you give the pastor a high-five for the message even though you can’t remember much of it. You do that because you remember some commandment about encouraging one another.
In truth, your life truly isn’t much different than those blokes who aren’t Christians and never go to church. Your moral set might be a tad higher than theirs, but that depends entirely upon the situation doesn’t it?
If you’re like the rest of the world, then how are you a hypocrite? In the eyes of the world you aren’t.
But in a significant way, you are a hypocrite. You own the Christian badge, but you’ve whittled your faith down to a checklist of dos and don’ts. If angels in Heaven are watching you, their conversations about you revolve around how you go through the motions of being a Believer, but your heart isn’t present.
They even quote some Scripture: “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.’” (Isaiah 29:13)
Ouch! Didn’t see that coming, did we.
That left a mark, but don’t worry. It’ll heal. Just like how Jesus healed you from all your sins. Just like how He always shows up when you need Him most. Just like how He gently steers you back on the right path when you stray. Just like how thrilled He is when He imagines you and He finally meeting face-to-face in Heaven.
As you ponder it, what did you miss? You missed it because you were called to be different but weren’t. You decided to follow manmade rules, rather than answering the call to have a vibrant relationship with your Lord. You were called to view all your relationships through a different lens than the world uses. It’s a lens immersed in selfless love. But you missed it.
Living a worshipful life daily reflects the worth of God’s glory. God’s glory is invaluable and sacred. Believer, you have the opportunity to reflect that daily. Don’t miss it.