True Confessions of a Hypocrite

“I am such a hypocrite,” I moaned to Kevin.

His eyebrows met each other in a concerned look. “What do you mean, honey?”

“Oh, I sit and teach Sunday school every week, giving victory lessons to the ladies in my class. Then, when a crisis hits, I worry and fret. Or, if I have a rough day at work, I complain and grumble. It’s easy for me to solve everyone else’s problems, but solving my own is like asking the Rolling Stones to sing Take me out to the Ball Game.

Why can’t I live what I preach for ten minutes in a row?”

 “Well, Jeanette, I think you’re being too harsh on yourself. It’s always simple to look at others’ problems and objectively share a solution. We all do it. At least you realize the areas God is convicting you of. You’re aware of your hypocrisy, and that’s a start.”

“Great, I’m really encouraged by that. It’s like saying ‘if you know how stupid you are, that’s halfway to being smarter.’ I just want to be grown up. I don’t want to go through the process of getting there.”

 “Hmmm…” Even Kevin didn’t have an answer for that.

All the faults that annoy me in others stare at me from the mirror every day. Why do Winnie Whiner and Gladys Griper annoy me so? Why does Slothful Sally’s dusty corners and unmade beds make me want to go home and find my can of Comet?

Whenever I gossip or complain about someone else’s faults, the Holy Spirit pokes me, asking, “And you’re so perfect?” I never get away with complaining.

I was complaining to the Lord recently that I never get away with complaining.   “Look, Lord, at Doodly Doo who is a leader down at The Church in the Wildwood. He is grumpy with his employees, treats his wife like a dog, and never mows his lawn. How come you let him get away with all that, and I can’t get away with anything?”

God is so kind. I think He even smiled when He answered me. At least, the tone of His voice in my heart had a smile in it.  “My dear, do you really want to get away with things? Or, do you want Me to love you enough to tell you when you are hurting Me, yourself, and those you care about?”

I had to admit He was right. I really don’t want to get away with attitudes and actions that hurt Him or others. So, I bring Him the same stinky sins over and over, relying on His forgiveness and cleansing.

Will I always be a hypocrite?

Probably.

I can’t imagine myself at the place where I can say, “Let me get that speck out of your eye,” without realizing that I’m peering around a log.  But if Kevin’s word is any consolation, at least I’m showing a little maturity by not pretending to be perfect.

“Nutty with a dash of meat” best describes Jeanette Levellie’s speaking, writing and life. She’s published hundreds of columns, articles, poems, and a book, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top. Jeanette is the wife of one, mother of two, grandmother of three, and waitress to four cats. www.jeanettelevellie.com