As my boys and I were huddled over heaping bowls of Cheerios this morning, Disney channel blaring in the background, living room already littered with cars and puzzles and trains and dinosaurs and dragons, I started to feel a little hypocritical. 

Our family is between church homes at the moment, and we’ve fallen into a bad pattern the last several weeks, getting out of the church routine altogether. Replacing it with just another day of daily chaos. We’ve been discussing options, but not really acting on them. And it’s feeling like we’re not walking our walk. This is just one of several examples where lately I just am not aligned between words and deeds.

Flipping through some scripture, I landed on Job 27:8-12 where he poses several questions related to hypocrisy:

What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he gain much, if God takes away his life?

Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him?

Will he delight himself in the Almighty?

Will he always call on God?

Great questions to ask in times of insincerity, when I’m wandering from where God would have me be. When I’m not being genuine and authentic and truthful. When talk and walk aren’t aligned.

We all have our moments of hypocrisy. In our professional lives, our personal lives, and in particular, our spiritual lives. I often get caught up in my own pursuits, and forget to delight in God where I’m blessed and to call on Him in times of need. I pronounce myself dependant upon Him, but my actions say I depend on myself. Hypocrisy.

The passage ends with my favorite all time question I’ve stumbled upon in the Bible. He says, “I will teach you about the hand of God; the Almighty I will not conceal.” And then he pops the question:

Surely all of you have seen it; Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?”

I love it. No sugar-coating. A direct call out. Hey dummy!

I don’t really have a good answer. Yes, I’ve seen the hand of God. It hasn’t been concealed. It’s been written across the sky, put up in bright lights, carved on my forehead. And yet, it’s so easy to behave with complete nonsense. To be a hypocrite. To not walk the walk. For me, it starts with getting serious about the church search again. Anyone with recommendations, fire away!