"Keep Your Eyes Open"

First, we must learn to identify hypocrites. This is not always easy. One family learned this at great cost to themselves. The mother had fallen into a coma. In filing a lawsuit for malpractice against the hospital where this had occurred, the family hired a lawyer who was also a preacher in a local church. Even though the hospital paid $3.4 million in settlement, the family's tragedy was compounded. The mother died a pauper, and there was no money to pay for her funeral. Why? Because the lawyer pocketed most of the money. Regarding this lawyer, a law journal stated: " IF he preached the kind of conduct he practiced....,his message would have to be this: "Let us pray." How can we protect ourselves from people like that?

"Keep your eyes open," was the advice Jesus gave to those in his day who were confronted with religious hypocrisy. (Matthew 16:3; Like 12:1) Yes, we must be cautious. People may profess the most noble aims and ooze sincerity, but we need to exercise reasonable caution and not immediately accept everyone at face value. Would we not carefully check our bank notes if we knew that counterfeit currency was in circulation?

Hypocrites have appeared even within the true Christian congregation. The disciple Jude warned about them saying: "These are the rocks hidden below water in your love feasts while they feast with you, shepherds that feed themselves without fear; waterless clouds carried this way and that by winds; trees in late autumn, but fruitless." - Jude12.

To 'keep our eyes open' means to avoid being deceived by someone who pretends to be loving but who is actually self-centered and promotes opinions not based on God's Word. Like a jagged rock lying just below the surface of placid waters, such a person can cause a spiritual shipwreck to the unwary. (1Timothy 1:19) The hypocrite may promise much in the way of spiritual refreshment but turns out to be a 'waterless cloud' - delivering nothing. Like a fruitless tree, a deceiver bears no genuine Christian fruitage. (Matthew 7:15-20; Galatians 5:19-21) Yes, we need to be on guard against such deceivers. Yet, we must do so without being suspicious of everyone's motives.

Next time: "Stop Judging"