The Great Preachers of the 21st Century
You see them speaking (*cue ominous music*). They live lavish lifestyles while telling the masses what to do (*screams of terror*). They stand on their pulpits in front of cameras moralizing on how we should live our lives (*gasp*). They fill our social media feeds with their thoughts and they tweet some hot stuff about the evils of our president.
Who am I talking about? Hollywood, of course.
You can't tune into an award show without them preaching about climate change. You can't listen to an interview about culture without them talking about racism and sexism.
Has it hit you yet? Maybe it will. Dear old Leo tells us we need to watch our carbon emissions as he flies in luxury planes for his career and personal life. Celebrities tell us conservatives don't care about the planet as they own multiple mansions and fleets of cars (electricity bill, anyone? Carbon emission reports, anyone?).
They will lecture you on the evils of conservative views towards women. But did you know countless actors, actresses, directors, and producers knew about Harvey Weinstein but stayed silent? There are many other mass perverts still in the industry that remain because countless "empowered liberal women and feminine men" won't name names. They care oh-so-much about women, but not enough to say something that will affect their careers.
Hollywood also has a pedophile issue that has been well-documented but continues to go on.
Hopefully I've made my point. But it's not what I actually want to talk about.
The Hypocrisy of EVERYONE
Lest you think I am just bashing Hollywood, think again. Christians are no better and deserve to be blasted just the same.
We say we love you, but don't share the Gospel we believe will save you... out of fear of what you will think of us even though we claim to serve an almighty God. We say we fight for marriage, but we divorce at the same rate as non-Christians. We say that there is no longer Gentile or Jew, Slave or Free... as we keep our churches segregated on Sunday mornings. We fight for the special gift of married sex, but young unmarried Christians sleep around just as much as their secular counterparts.
We are no better morally.
That's the point. Hypocrisy is as human as eating and drinking.
Our Path from Here
When faced with hypocrisy, we have three options. 1) Never tell anyone what to do because we can't keep our own standards. This is ludicrous because laws are necessary to keep the peace in society, even though law-givers will fail eventually because they are hypocrites.
2) Continue to be hypocrites. This is the best that most people can do. "Yeah... I'm not perfect... but I AM STILL RIGHT SO DO AS I SAY." Hollywood and most of mankind is stuck here because EVERYONE is hypocritical at some point in their lives.
3) Embrace the hypocrisy and point people to Jesus. This should be the path for Christians. "Yeah... I'm not perfect... but don't try to be like me! Try to be like Jesus and we can help each other out!" This is the answer to unavoidable hypocrisy.
I don't WANT you to be like me. I recognize I'm a hopeless hypocrite and I need endless forgiveness for my wrongs. However, I am trying to be like Jesus and when I "moralize" (tell people what I believe to be right and wrong), I am simply giving them God's instruction found in the Bible. I don't perfectly follow God's commands, but that's not a stumbling block for you because I'm not telling you to be like me in the first place!
Embrace the hypocrisy because it is inescapable. Point people to Jesus and stay humble. #gameplan
