Hypocrisy in meaning is a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles. It also means a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude. Pretense is simply feigning, make-believe, pretend or a false show of something.
I cannot live a life of hypocrisy nor can I pretend to be something I am not. I am one of the most flawed people upon the planet. My virtuous character is best described in that I don’t try to eat grapes in the store when I haven’t paid for them yet. My moral, beliefs and principles I keep learning from the bible I read. The more I look at people around me, the more I realize how open I need to be. I don’t want anyone looking at me for their barometer. I am not Paul of the epistles. I am Debra the flawed.
Only Jesus can be our measure of character. He alone knew we couldn’t bear up under the burden to be perfect. He gave us His life so we wouldn’t have to be hypocrites. The rest is simple. In our flawed state we give grace to others, remembering how much we too need this precious gift.
Col 3:13 Make allowances for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others
Rom 15:1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.
Eph 4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other’s faults because of your love