Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Concerning Hypocrites

by Pastor William Jenkins

April 16, 2005

There is hardly any religious word that is loaded with more negative baggage than the word “hypocrite”. “Hypocrite” means to pretend. It was first associated with the ancient Greek plays where actors used large masks and loud voices to build up the character they were “pretending” to be. The absence of substance on the inside required props on the outside.

A hypocrite can be as glaring as a TV evangelist who leads a double life or as subtle as a speaker who stands up to address a crowd of swindlers and thugs, street-walkers and bar-flys, and begins by saying “Ladies and gentlemen…”

I have observed a curious thing among the general populous; it is that they are quite willing to associate with hypocrites everywhere except in church. People who stay away from church because there are hypocrites in it, never give a thought about being with the hypocrites who go to ball games, department stores, restaurants, or their own places of work. This double standard is confusing, even a bit…hypocritical.

One of the strangest ads I have ever seen was placed in a New Orleans newspaper by a downtown church. On either side of the ad was a caricature of snooty church members. Between them the ad asked in bold print, “Tired of the Old Hypocrites in Church?” In small letters underneath, “Come meet some new hypocrites at (name of church).”

The message of the ad was stated: “We’re all sinners and sometimes hypocritical but the Lord is working on us…”, then followed the times of the services when the Lord was working on them. At the bottom of the ad was the pastor’s name with this notation, “Chief Hypocrite”. I was refreshed by the honesty of the ad.

I have met very few true hypocrites in my life. I have, however, met many sincere and devout people who have made honest and regrettable mistakes, as well as other who were trying their best and “tripping up” along the way. Hyper-critical people might label them hypocrites.

The great majority of church people are not at all hypocrites; they may for sure be imperfect, but they are not hypocrites. The Scottish preacher, James Denny, describes the situation: “What’s bothering us is not religious difficulties, but the difficult of being religious.”

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org