ARE ALL PEOPLE HYPOCRITES?

     We live in a world populated by strange, unpredictable, inconsistent creatures. We call these creatures "homo sapiens" that is, human beings. When God created humans He put everything under their stewardship. At one point, humans had gone so far off the rails committing all manner of evil that God was sorry that He created them (Genesis 6:5-7). Enter Noah, an Ark, animals walking two by two and forty days and nights of rain resulting in a cataclysmic flood. God essentially rebooted humankind!
     Are humans much different today? Pick up any major newspaper, watch any newscast and you have your answer. How did humans become so depraved? Where did humans learn to commit such evil? Are humans intrinsically good who must be taught how to be evil or are humans intrinsically evil who must be taught to do good? Philosophers have wrestled with this question since the beginning of philosophy.
     Imagine you see a person who you know to be a person of good moral character commit an immoral act. Does this one act make this person immoral? Conversely, you see a person who you know to be criminally dishonest and you see him commit an act of honesty. Does this one act now make this dishonest person honest?
     We human beings tend to be hard markers when we judge the actions of our fellow human beings. This is particularly true when we judge the actions of a person who professes to be a religious person. We tend to condemn them as hypocrites when we see them commit an act that we deem to be inconsistent with their religious profession.
     When God handed down the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, God made provision in that Law for redemption should anyone violate His Law, that is, commit sin. God knew that humans were incapable of living perfectly under the Law so He provided a way where an innocent animal could pay the penalty for their sin.
     Under the New Law, the New Testament, God made provision for those times when His followers, whose sins have been atoned for by the death of Christ, would sin again afterward. (I John 1:5 - 10)
     No human being, save one, has ever lived a perfectly sinless life. That is what made it possible for that person to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. His name is Jesus and we call Him Lord!
     All people are inconsistent, but that does not necessarily make them hypocrites. So let's give each other a break and not judge each other too harshly. After all, we are only human!
     May God bless you all on this frigid January morning!