I came into the Church as a child, and in my 50-plus years of being in the Church, I have observed many things that made me shake my head and wonder what people were thinking.
I recall a couple of occasions when I was a teenager, when my friends and I would observe people in church doing things they shouldn’t be doing, or behaving in ways we knew were not right. As time went on, several of my friends began commenting about those other people, calling them hypocrites. Eventually, most of my friends left the Church and the reason some of them gave was, “They’re all a bunch of hypocrites!”

One such occasion was when I played on our church youth basketball team. To improve the chances of winning, our coach recruited players from local high schools who were not part of the Church. To play on the team they had to attend Sabbath services. It was clear from the outset, these players were not interested in being part of the Church, but were willing to sit through Sabbath services so they could play basketball.

It was frustrating to see these players pretend to be part of the Church while living contrary to all we teach. They smoked marijuana, participated in school activities and went to parties on Friday nights. One even got arrested and the coach bailed him out of jail!

As a result of these players being on our team, my friends and I frequently sat on the bench while these other guys played. I remember talking to my mother about the hypocrisy of it all and what to do about it. My mother’s advice was simply this, “You need to be like a race horse with blinders, so you can keep your focus on eternal life in the Kingdom of God.” Horses wear blinders (also called blinkers) to restrict their field of vision and keep their attention focused straight ahead, blocking out any distractions around them.

If I were to ask you to name one reason people leave the Church, the word hypocrisy often comes to mind. A 2019 survey by LifeWay Research concluded that the top two most frequently chosen reasons for dropping out of church attendance were moving away for college and church members seeming judgmental or hypocritical. When we observe hypocrisy, it is easy to become disillusioned and even tempted to reject the Church entirely.

What is hypocrisy?

The Cambridge dictionary defines hypocrisy as “a situation in which someone pretends to believe something that they do not really believe, or that is the opposite of what they do or say at another time.” The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a hypocrite as, “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion, or a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” The word hypocrisy describes behavior, but the word hypocrite describes a person. As we look at this topic, it is important to make a distinction between observing behaviors that appear to be hypocrisy versus labeling someone a hypocrite.

As it relates to Christians, a hypocrite denotes a person who has the outward show of having virtuous character, being morally pure or exercising religious beliefs or principles, when the person really does not. The Greek word translated “hypocrite” can literally mean, “an actor under an assumed character (stage player)” and occurs 20 times in the New Testament. In 17 of those occurrences the word is used by Jesus Christ to rebuke the scribes and Pharisees.

In Matthew 6, with each instruction Jesus gave regarding charitable giving, prayer and fasting, He instructed us to not be like the hypocrites (Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16). It’s worth noting that the Greek words translated “they have their reward,” signify a receipt in full. In other words, they have their entire reward and there is no other reward awaiting them.

The greatest number of occurrences of “hypocrite” in a single passage can be found in Matthew 23. In this chapter, Jesus declares woes upon the scribes and Pharisees seven times, calling them hypocrites (Matthew 23:13-29). A woe is a declaration of grief or indignation.

In all 20 instances of the word “hypocrite” or “hypocrites” used in the New Testament to label a person or group, it was always Jesus speaking. Does this tell us anything?

Do you remember the story in which God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in search of a king and seven of Jesse’s sons passed before Samuel? God said to Samuel, “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

When we see what we believe is hypocrisy, we feel that something is wrong, or not fair. But just because we see what appears to be hypocrisy does not mean it really is because we do not know the heart of the person. The Apostle Paul, in several of his letters to the various churches, asked the brethren to imitate God. “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Most members of the Church are not “hypocrites,” but rather are trying to be like Jesus Christ. They are working to imitate Him by reflecting His nature, character and behavior.

Being in the Church does not make us perfect, so we all struggle in our efforts to be like Christ and we still sin (Romans 3:23). We might observe what we believe to be hypocrisy, but we don’t see that person at home in private, praying to God, repenting of their sins and asking forgiveness. When repentance is genuine, God promises to forgive (1 John 1:9). If we are not careful, we might wrongly label someone a “hypocrite” when they are genuinely striving daily to be like Christ and simply fall short.

A true hypocrite is not trying to imitate Christ. This is someone who is acting as if they are trying to imitate Christ, but in their heart, they really are not. A hypocrite is deliberately deceitful in their motives.

None of us has the ability to know the heart of another person. Even though we might see what appears to be hypocrisy, only God and Jesus Christ know who is a hypocrite versus who is honestly trying to imitate Christ.

What to do about it?

How can we help someone who is on the brink of quitting the Church because they see “hypocrisy” in the lives of Church members? What can we say to get them to reconsider? Maybe you have had this very struggle in your own life, so how can you resist the temptation to quit?

Let’s first call it what it really is—an excuse. Don’t use hypocrisy as an excuse to leave the Church. Yes, it is difficult to see hypocrisy, but God sees it, too, and He will deal with it when He is ready. Let’s remember nobody is perfect—everyone sins. Even diligent Christians mess up from time to time, so be patient and merciful towards them. Aren’t you glad that God is patient with you?

From the basketball team I played on as a teen, I am the only one still in the Church today. All the rest are gone, even the coach, eventually quitting the Church “because of hypocrisy.” Unfortunately, they couldn’t get past the hypocrisy they saw, and were not patient enough to wait for others to grow or allow God to work it out. It was not easy because it did not seem fair, and they ultimately gave up on the Church.

Like wearing horse blinders, we must keep our eyes focused straight ahead at the goal of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Do not look at how other people behave, then use it as an excuse to quit running your race! Yes, it is hard at times, but many things in life require us to do hard things.

Earlier in this article, we read Jesus’ instructions regarding charitable giving, prayer and fasting and His statement that the hypocrites “have their reward” (Matthew 7:1-2, 5, 16). There is no other reward that awaits them. However, for those who are truly striving to live God’s way of life there is a wonderful reward, and it was the focus of the United Youth Camps 2023 theme, “Race to Your Crown.”

Remember what Paul wrote to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).