Hypocrisy is a very hateful fault, inasmuch as it partakes of the nature of untruthfulness. The life of a hypocrite is a continual lie. It is not that he yields under the pressure of temptation to a single act of untruthfulness, but he is himself untrue, a living falsehood. Hypocrisy is hateful in the sight of men; it is still more hateful to God. He is true so He desires truth in the inward parts, (Psalm 51:6) that is, that we should be what we seem to be. He looks not on the outward appearance only, but upon the heart, and He cannot be deceived.
The Lord Jesus nowhere denounces the hateful sins of the publicans and sinners, although He loathed those of them who were unrepentant, as with burning indignation He denounced the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.
Sometimes, however, people are hypocrites in that they try to make themselves appear worse than they really are. They are afraid of ridicule, or they are ashamed of their religion in the presence of those who do not know its value, or they yield to the natural tendency of human nature to do as others do. So they become guilty of this miserable hypocrisy.
The cause of this are moral cowardice and lack of strength to stand alone. Those who are guilty of it are as babes who cannot stand or walk of themselves, but need to be continually supported by another. Thus, they fail of being true, of being true to God, of being true to their own convictions and standard of right and wrong, and of being true to their sense of duty towards others.
What is the hypocrite’s reward? He gains, perchance, a reputation for goodness, and, perhaps, by means of this, certain material advantages. He relieves himself from being singular, and from the effort and trouble of standing up alone for goodness, purity, or truth. However, he loses self-respect, and that of his companions also, for no one can feel esteem for so poor a creature as such an one is.
Prayer
O Lord Jesu Christ, grant me honesty and courage, that I may share in Thy victory and have a place also in Thy glory, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
From Lent for Busy People © 2017 Fr. Charles H. Nalls
The Cathedral Close 
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