THE RELIGIOUS HYPOCRITES

Yesterday I was having a conversation and the topic of hypocrites in the church came up. As we went on further, I found out that there was this pastor that owned a liquor store. Now I am all for us making our way in this world, but having these HOLY folks invest in such a business seems VERY wrong AND hypocritical to me. I suppose their God gives them a free pass because they bless the alcohol, prayed for the building AND place their business on holy ground…No matter because if there is ONE thing evident about me and blog EVERY Sunday, is that I am BEYOND tired of religious know-it-alls who love to point their fingers @ everybody else.

Hearing this made me think about the various track records of other religious folks that are ABSOLUTE, UNCOMPROMISING and UNWAVERING in the battle against sin. They are SO tough on sins of others, their own sins, well, NOT SO MUCH! Yet they preach SO vehemently against sexual immorality, gambling, drinking and everything else under the sun…I now realize that they can do that because they themselves are right in the filth with us. I can’t help but wonder if they are the BIGGER hypocrites or us for NOT having the balls to recognize that these “holy figures” are just as flawed as we are?

We take their hypocrisy in stride and this makes me wonder, what has to happen before the entire institution becomes suspect? Religion has FAILED to address the MANY underlying ills of society and I feel that it should be judged on the basis of those who claim to be its adherents. I feel that’s MORE than fair when, in reality, they practice the opposite of what they preach! I realize that the word HYPOCRITE gets thrown around a lot, and it is used to describe all sorts of behavior. I know that to some degree, @ some time or another, everybody’s been guilty of hypocrisy. But the worst form of hypocrisy, the one that really stinks, is religious hypocrisy…you know that person who tries to disguise his or her own personal defects under the guise of holiness and self-righteousness? YEAH THEM!

I really don’t want to stand in judgment on these people because in the final analysis NO ONE has that rite, but @ the same time, as case after case finds themselves into the light, we need to call it what it is…one of the greatest of all human sins…the sin of hypocrisy. I think this is THE dirtiest obstacles in the religious maze. I wonder if they would think that MY condemning the condemners AND hating the hypocrites is turning my feet away from the pathway of THEIR God when they are doing the same?