Hypocrite

Once I disciplined an employee who was caught sleeping at work by his supervisor. When confronted with it, instead of being regretful and apologetic, this person became openly defiant and blamed it on the supervisor for not giving them enough to do. I angrily told them exactly what I thought of that and we decided it was in both our best interests for them to find a new career somewhere else. I received a letter from this ex-employee a few days later and they had taken me to task for, in essence, being a hypocrite for displaying anger over the situation. On the one hand I daily send out Words for the Day espousing God’s love, compassion etc., but in real life I cannot practice what I preach as demonstrated by my losing my temper.

I think anyone who does something like Words for the Day, teaches Sunday School, preaches in a church, or even testifies to a friend will sooner or later experience an incident like this. What most people do not understand is that this person is exactly right. I am simply a “fallen”
man struggling with sin like everyone from my great-great-great-etc.Grandpappy Adam on down to every other human being on this planet. Many people will not even go to church because there are too many “hypocrites” there. My answer to this logic has always been that church is exactly where they need to be. What better place for a hypocrite to get help?

I do not send out Words for the Day to try and make anyone think I’m a good guy, I’m not. I am a lowly man trapped in flesh like everyone else.
I do love Jesus though with all my heart and am trying to be obedient in telling others what He did for me. I once was lonely, miserable, sick, discouraged, devoid of love or God and ready to commit suicide. Jesus completely changed my life and I will be eternally grateful. What He did for me, He wants to do for every other person on earth. When sharing the Bible or my testimony with others, I am simply acting as a messenger boy for God. If I have shortcomings please blame it on the messenger boy, not the message or the One who sent it. Messenger boys sometimes step in mud puddles, or could even fall flat on their face in a sewer, but God’s pure clean message remains perfectly unscathed.
Messenger boys who are television evangelists have hurt the cause of Jesus by falling into sin. So have choir members and deacons who act like saints on Sunday and devils during the week. They are simply fallen men and women struggling with sin. Sin tempts us all.

In my opinion Paul was the greatest apostle. He wrote most of the New Testament. He suffered greatly for Jesus, spending much time in prison for sharing the Word of God with others and eventually lost his life for it. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, could perform miracles, and actually spoke with Jesus Christ in person. I bet some of you never realized that Paul struggled with sin just like we do. Listen to some of what he wrote about his struggle with sin. He describes exactly what I go through. I hate it when I sin. I do not want to do it, but sometimes it gets the best of me. You may need to read it a couple of times to realize its full message. Also it is so long that I skipped a little. I suggest that you read this entire chapter as well as chapter 8.

God offers a bridge for those who sometimes slip off the curb into a mud hole. His name is Jesus. He will pick you up, clean you up, forgive you, and help you in your quest to avoid other mud holes.

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Romans 7:14-25, 8:..
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
For what I am doing, I do not understand.
For what I will to do, that
I do not practice; but what I hate,
that I do…..
For I delight in the law of God
according to the inward man.
But I see another law in my
members warring against the law of
my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in
my members.
O wretched man that I am! Who
will deliver me from this body of
death?
I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord! So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of
God, but with the flesh the law of
sin.
There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according
to the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has made me free
from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh,
God did by sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, on
account of sin: He condemned sin in
the flesh.
That the righteous requirement of
the law might be fulfilled in us who
do not walk according to the flesh
but according to the Spirit.