Have you ever gone to a church or walked into a room full of “Christians” and felt as if you were not welcomed? Maybe because of how you were dressed. Perhaps because the group knew of your past life choice or even current life choice, and they disapproved. Not only did they dislike, but they acted in a way that caused you to resist the idea of church. Or maybe because you look like what you had gone through or going through. I have. But I have also been that “Christian.”

At one point in my life, my choices were dictated and determined by my sinful flesh. Although I have always known the value of knowing God, I have not always known him personally. I made many sinful choices, some that I am still dealing with the consequences of because I did not know God for myself. However, I often found myself in church singing and praying but couldn’t manage to stay on the right track for nothing. I was too worried about what people thought of me. I wanted to look like a good Christian by doing all the things a Christian should do, but I did not fully understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ.

When I finally understood what being a Christian was and began to grow, I became prideful. The further away from my old sinful nature I moved, the more I began to feel as if I was above specific ways of living. One Sunday, a visitor stepped into my church; she “obviously” struggled with drug addiction. As I watched her, in my heart I ridiculed her. I did not go up to her and smile and say welcome like I would have anyone else. I didn’t see her as Christ sees her. I saw her through judgmental lenses. She was not the first, nor was she the last. However, God condemned me. How is it that I could look down on her when I once was her? How is it that because she did not fit the image of what I thought a believer should look like, I judged her?

Often, when unbelievers talk about why they don’t go to church, they refer to the people as a bunch of hypocrites. I understand why. However, many can have a wrong understanding of a hypocrite. We should not be so afraid of the label Hypocrite that we stand still in our Christian life, hiding our Faith and making no attempts to grow. See, I did this. I ran from the church because I did not feel as if it was a place for healing. But rather a place where my sins were in the spotlight. I didn’t want people to see me as a hypocrite, so I attempted to conceal my weakness, wanting people to think I had it together when doing so actually kept me from growing. I’m sure I have also played a role in making others feel the same way. But God can’t change who we pretend to be. I have learned that a person who tries to do right but often fails is not a hypocrite. It is not hypocrisy to be weak in Faith. A hypocrite is a person who only puts on religious behavior to gain attention, approval, acceptance, or admiration from others. Which I also have done.

Scripture teaches us in Luke 6:43-45, that our speech and actions reveal our true underlying beliefs, attitudes, and motivations. The good impressions we try to make cannot last if we are being deceptive. What is in our heart will come out in our speech and behavior.

How do you see others? Through lenses of love or judgment? Are you weak in Faith, or are you a hypocrite?