Hypocrisy

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)

I know a great gal who openly declares that she loves God so much that she wishes her life to just end quickly so that she can immediately start spending eternity with Him; that she would rather be alone in this world so that she can stay devoted to God and only God. And she did; she did devote like 5/7^th of her time to bible studies, bible school, church and ministering to His people. I wanted that kind of zeal for God too! 

Well, a week ago she told me she found her soul mate – a non-believer whose religion persecutes Christianity. Sure, he is not the religious sort – willing to allow his partners to freely practice whatever faith they wish. However, he himself is a staunch believer in his own.

After dating only for a couple of weeks and they are already talking about marriage – what religious practice he would allow or disallow her. And hey, nothing is out of bounds as long as he is not required to convert!

Just in case you are wondering about her eligibility, she is highly eligible – intellectual, has a high flying job, attractive, sociable and has a line of suitors waiting at her doorstep. Before this man, she was deeply upset she had so many lining up for her and, argued for and defended her belief that she had the gift of singlehood. Of course we didn’t agree.

She is now desperately rationalising their relationship to herself, friends and I’m sure to God too. Her conclusion - nothing else matters as long as she is sure of her own salvation. Can one truly be satisfied with his/her own salvation knowing that he/she will never see their life partner in heaven when all things fade away? Is that true love, then?

You know, I was so angry and disappointed in her hypocrisy and actions to the point that I became judgmental, condemning even. And true to God’s nature, he convicted me of my own hypocrisy – my anger and disappointment outweighed my sadness over her actions; and all I did was judge her when I was supposed to be pray and war for her. I was so focused on the speck in her eye that I didn’t see the plank that was forming in my eye (Matthew 7:3)!

I do have her best interest at heart. So, I suppose the next question is: how do I rebuke her in love? She is not one who will listen. Whatever rebuke you can think of, she probably has already thought of a rebuttal. My pastor is right; prayer is the greatest weapon we have right now.

We have to be aware of the devil’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) so that he does not succeed in leading us away from God. He manipulates our emotions. Once our own desires start to demand priority, our zeal for God starts to quickly dissipate. Emotions are so powerful that if we do not control them, they control us (Jeremiah 17:9).

We must understand that God’s Word is given to us so as to restrict us from committing actions that will keep us from being our best. When we obey His given Word, we avoid paths that lead to destruction! I encourage all of you (including myself) to obey God’s every commandment. Only good can come out of it!

I pray and hope that I will have good news to share with regards to my friend in subsequent posts.