You've all heard it. The excuse sounds that same no matter who says it. "I would go to church, but there are too many hypocrites there." Too many hypocrites. Is that to say if there were far less hypocrites according to the norm then these people would be more than happy to give church a try?
Hypocrisy. Yes, there are hypocrites in church. And there are hypocrites in the grocery store, at the mall, in the post office, at school, working out at the gym, even in your favorite restaurant. Indeed, the entire world is full of hypocrites, those who say one thing yet do another. Let's say your order a taco and ask for no cheese, yet the waitress brings you one with cheese anyway. Does this mean you no longer will ever eat a taco again? More than likely you will send it back to have it done right or you will just scrape the cheese off again. It's going to take more than a waitress telling you one thing but delivering another to keep you from eating Mexican food.
But then there is church. Let's say that someone ventures into a church building on a Sunday morning with the purpose of seeing what all of this "God stuff" is about. He sits through a few hymns and struggles to understand the message from the pastor, yet he does hear about Jesus and some things about living a life that honors Him. There are occasional prayers lifted up and the people seem friendly enough. He even recognizes some guys from work who look like they really believe all of this talk. Even though he doesn't fully understand all that is going on around him, it seems sincere enough and he's learned just enough to grasp what all this fuss about Jesus is about.
Fast forward to the following week. This same guy sees some of those co-workers that he ran into at church, and they are saying and doing things that he figures aren't consistent with all of this God stuff that he heard about this past Sunday as he visited their church. Over time as he occasionally checks out this church and maybe some others, he realizes that the people who faithfully walk through those thick wooden doors each Sunday morning seem to behave and speak differently while seated on padded pews than they do in the workplace. What's up with that?
Is it fair to say that this guy would be disgusted with the inconsistency of those who claim to be followers of Christ but don't always demonstrate it? It's possible. He's not going to stop frequenting his favorite restaurant even though they fix his taco wrong or the grocery store even though they said they would honor his coupons but didn't or the gym when his workout partner promised he would be there on time but never showed up. But he probably won't be back at church because he can't handle all the hypocrites.
What is wrong with being upset with hypocrisy in church? Nothing is wrong with it as long as you understand what the Christian faith is all about. Before you swear off church forever because of your disdain over hypocrites, consider this one important point: The Christian faith is focused on Jesus, not man. If my main complaint is that there are too many hypocritical Christians out there for my taste, then I have made Christianity into a man-centered religion that has to suit my criteria before I will check it out.
As a follower of Christ my goal is to live faithfully in humble submission to Jesus so that I can model the life of Christ and bring honor and glory to Him. But at the same time I admit that I am not Jesus and I will never achieve perfection on this planet no matter how hard I try. This does not excuse my behavior or my hypocrisy, but it does help to explain it. Instead of focusing on my inconsistencies which are many, why not place your trust in the object of the faith, Jesus Christ Himself? Jesus is the source, the very core and essence, of the Christian faith. Man will disappoint you every single time. With Jesus you won't find inconsistencies or hypocrisy. When you study Jesus in Scripture, you find One who is sinless perfection and worthy to be followed.
Many are quick to dismiss Christianity because of the people of the people who claim to be its followers. And shamefully there are myriads who poorly model the life of Christ. Would you stop shopping at the mall because someone you don't like shops there too? Of course not. Then why would you carelessly discard even considering the beauty of Christ and His word just because there are others who don't meet your criteria for faithfulness?
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