HYPOCRISY! Will It Ever End?

HOW GOD AND HIS SON VIEW HYPOCRISY

According to the Bible, hypocrisy got its start, not among humans, but with an unseen spirit creature. Early in human history, Satan the Devil used a serpent as a mask and portrayed himself as  a benefactor in order to mislead the first woman, Eve.  (Genesis 3:1-5) Since then, many humans have similarly made themselves out to be something they were not, and they have done this to deceive others and to achieve selfish aims.

When the ancient nation of Israel fell into the trap of false worship and spiritual hypocrisy, God repeatedly warned them of the consequences.  Through the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah God  declared:  "This people approaches me with their mouth and they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far removed from me." (Isaiah 29:13)  When the nation failed to turn around, God allowed foreign  powers to destroy Israel's religious center-Jerusalem and it temple-first by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. and ultimately by the Roman armies in 70 C.E. Clearly, God does not tolerate hypocrisy indefinitely.  

On the other hand, God and His Son, Jesus, greatly valued humans who are honest and sincere.  For example, early in Jesus' ministry, a man named Nathanael approached him. Upon seeing him, Jesus exclaimed:  "See, truly and Israelite in whom there is no deceit. (John 1:47)  Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, because one of Jesus' 12 apostles. -Luke 6:13-16. 

Jesus spent time with his followers, and he taught them God's way of thinking. Hypocrisy was to have no place among them.   As a warning, Jesus strongly condemned the hypocritical practices of the religious leader of that time.  Consider some of their ways. 

Next time: HYPOCRISY! Will It Ever End? - Conclusion of  HOW GOD AND HIS SON VIEW HYPOCRISY

From the Watchtower magazine