Is there a “Hypocrite Tongue”?
Why do I never hear people talking in “Olde English” in real life situations, yet some insist on switching over to it when it’s time to show off how religious we can be?
Is it some kind of hypocrite flag/warning so others can tell that it’s time for the “religiously justified hatred/judgement/condemnation” poison to be released?
Is it disingenuous to be our authentic selves 90% of the time, but shift into religious dogma, language, and ritual for the 10% we think we need to act religious?
Looking back at my own past posts, etc. I can see this type of “virtue signaling” that I’ve participated in myself. But I don’t need to white wash my language so that all of the “good Christians” know that I’m probably referencing scripture.
No, I need my heart washed white as snow — so that my words and actions are overflowing with, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control — so that they might encounter the Holy Spirit through me, and so they might have their own encounter with the Jesus that I love and worship.
I’m sorry, my friends, if at times I seem more religious than loving, more of a hypocrite than a good neighbor, more of a zealot than a loving friend. Lord, help my heart yearn for showing mercy, not for demanding sacrifice. Amen and Amen.
Matthew 12:7 NLT
[7] But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.12.7.NLT
Matthew 9:11-13 NLT
[11] But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” [12] When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” [13] Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.9.11-13.NLT
Hosea 6:6 NLT
[6] I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.
https://bible.com/bible/116/hos.6.6.NLT
Matthew 23:2-13, 15 NLT
[2] “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. [3] So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. [4] They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. [5] “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. [6] And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. [7] They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ [8] “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. [9] And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. [10] And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. [11] The greatest among you must be a servant. [12] But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. [13] “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.
[15] “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!
Harold J. Ballinger 