Lifeway released some interesting survey results recently. They basically surveyed specific attitudes of people that don’t go to church. This was the stat that caught my attention:
- 72% of the people surveyed said that they thought the church was full of hypocrites.
Well…. I never. While something like this can seem like an insult, I do have to admit that these people are correct. Churches are full of hypocrites. Before you think you can predict the rest of my thoughts here and think that I am going to decry the amount of hypocrisy in church today, I want to explore a slightly different path here.
What is hypocrisy, anyway? We throw it around a lot – but what does it mean to be a hypocrite? You can basically look at hypocrisy as a lie – you say one thing and do another. This ties in with something else I read today: a study that claims that the average person tells almost 88,000 lies in their life time (3-5 times per day). So, the sad fact is – we are all hypocrites. Churches are full of hypocrites because the world is full of hypocrites.
The real rub here is that one of the functions of a church is to reveal hypocrisy. And this is actually a good thing. Sure – you go to church to worship and pray. But you should also go to get your life examined from an outside perspective, so that your hypocrisy is exposed and you can actually change it. Not to have fingers pointed at you or to get judged, but to actually help you become a better person.
So what this all means is that people who don’t go to church don’t want to come, in part, because they see the hypocrisy in other people’s lives that has already been exposed.
Great. So…. what can you do about the fact that people don’t want to come to church because the church is doing one of the things that the church is supposed to do? Beats me. It’s this big lie that we all believe in America that hypocrisy is worse than any other mistake you can make, and that being a hypocrite means that what you believe in is wrong because of your hypocrisy and not because of any actual truth behind it. Or that you should avoid someone because they don’t actually do what they say they believe. If this were true, I guess we would all have to lock ourselves in our houses, get online jobs, and never interact with other human beings.
But such is the mindset that we have to work with in modern America. How to convince people that they actually need the very thing that is turning them off right now. Luckily, that’s not the real issue here. But it’s one that I’m sure will cause many discouraging conversations around the nation on a daily basis. Most churches will probably work to find a way to be less hypocritical. That’s always a good goal, but one we will have to work on for the rest of our lives. And probably not the quickest way to convince people to visit your church.
Come to think of it, realizing the truth about global hypocrisy, it kind of puts an interesting spin on all the churches that are trying to reach people by just “being real”? In “being real,” wouldn’t that mean they would be letting their hypocrisy hang out in the wind for everyone to see? Wouldn’t that mean that they are actually pushing more people away – since so many people don’t like the realness of hypocrisy? Just some things to ponder on, I guess.
We’ll all have a lot that unfolds before our Creator we are not proud of I’m sure.But through the gift of His love and life we are forgiven, but should still strive to work against lies and what you discuss. And not repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
Blessings,
Ella
I will have to disagree with the author on, his comparison of telling lies & hypocrisy. There is right and wrong, for most people; they know the difference you are sowing the seeds of hypocrisy when you try to define it for others.
I also don’t understand why people need to become defensive, and go into calling hypocrites… who are judging them as not doing the right thing, and bringing out this reaction? Is there a need of self evaluation?
I believe every one should do what brings them others inner piece and happiness. Going to Church/Temple as a routine (or part of what you have to do) and not gaining any thing from it is the worst thing that you can do to yourself and the community, you are loosing faith by making it part of your grind. You should go to the Church if you believe and that will bring you good things and happiness in your life. For others; who don’t see the value should wait until they do believe, and you can feel the presence of the guiding force all around you.
I think the message I have is:
If you are happy, without knowing what a church/temple can do for you; you are one of the more blessed and chosen one and I am happy for you.
If you are troubled, and need solace know that, even if every one has left you the almighty will always be there for you… if you want him.
– BMN
BMN – thanks for your comments. I am not sure if I totally understand the point you are making. I compare telling lies with hypocrisy because it is generally accepted that hypocrisy is lying. If you look up hypocrisy in a Thesaurus, you will find that a synonym of hypocrisy is “lie”.
I have to disagree with Church being necessary only if it makes us or others happy. Life is tough sometimes, and you have to do what you know is right even if doesn’t make you happy. I remember once when I found $20 at school in the hall when no one was around. I could have kept it, but I decided to turn it in to the principal. That didn’t make me happy at all – but it was the right thing to do.
We need Church because we receive encouragement, enlightenment, rebuke, and correction. We also learn how to deal with difficult people. And a whole host of reasons that are even more important than these (I am only speaking to issues at hand and not espousing my entire theology on why we should go to church). It’s not always easy – but it’s what we need in life to grow. We can seek to be happy – that is fine, but to avoid things that don’t make us happy would make us socially and emotionally stunted because we would have to avoid huge parts of life.
My problem is with people that don’t go to church because they think the churches are filled with hypocrites. If you don’t want to go to church because you don’t believe in the Bible or whatever – you are free to choose that. But to make hypocrisy your reason is pretty weak. It’s like saying you don’t want to go eat at a restaurant because the waiter will only be nice to you because he wants a tip from you. It’s where he works, so earning money is what he does. It should have no bearing on whether we go there or not. Same thing with church. People are all hypocritical in some way – that’s no reason to avoid church, just like it is no reason to avoid going to the bank.
I have spent 15 years in “Church” and agree there is much hypocrisy, so much so that I find myself now stumbled in my faith. I still believe that Jesus is my Savior and has paid for my sins and those of others but the whole church “thing” has become unattactive, after 15 years of steady attendance, I taught in Sunday School and went on missions etc. The pastor I had(at a CC) was mean,prideful and harsh. He taught the bible well but i sure did not see the Lord in his life and the way he dealt with the ‘sheep’. many of the women I hung out with for many years have now divorced thier husbands (with no biblical grounds)and I have to ask if the Christian life is ‘real’, why ? Church cliques, my spouse was not invited to any functions because he was an “unbeliever” ( I married him before I was saved btw.) So much bible study was done by many yet they treat people unkindly. Its very discouraging not to mention the general “me” agenda of many mainstream American churches now days. At church its a latte, a rock concert, 20 minutes of feel good-what can God do for “me” mumbo jumbo and then everyone is off to Dennys for Sunday lunch. I think I’ll stay home.