Hypocrite for Christ

The word "hypocrite" was derived from the Greek language and it literally means "actor". It seems that the word "hypocrite" has always been attributed in a negative sense. The Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary defines it as "one who puts on a mask and feigns himself to be what he is not". But isn't being a Christian meant that you have to be a hypocrite as well? Yikes. OK before you hit the "Say Something!" link, I do mean this in a positive manner!

As Christians we are called to be like Christ, which means to be more like Him and less like ourselves. But this change does not happen overnight and it takes time. So what do we do between current state and change? Simple: we put on a mask and pretend we are already like Jesus!

I remember my mum used to tell me to pinch the tip of my nose to make it look "sharper". But I would have to do it long-term for my nose to take shape (fyi: i still have my jacky-chan-nose). It is the same with the Jesus-mask. It doesn't matter if we are all gooey, mushed-up and horrid behind it. As long as we are willing to bear with it, we will eventually conform to the shape of the mask and be more like Jesus.

In many ways by doing this we are being a hypocrite. But what makes the whole lot of difference is that we are striving as well as aspiring to be like Jesus; and not just merely pretending and forgetting about it when no one's looking. So for those of you who are striving for Christ-likeness, keep it up! And for those of you who are unsure about whether being Christ-like is no different from being a typical hypocrite, I would say pray about it and let God show you there is nothing wrong to be a hypocrite for Christ. Amen.