So, What About
Living What You Preach?
By Pastor Steven Mays
There is nothing more sickening than HYPOCRISY. The Lord blasted it like nothing else. Yet it seems that nothing blinds us quite like our own inconsistencies and hypocrisies. Paul told the Corinthians in II Cor. 3:2, "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men." We are "Living Epistles" that are known and read of all men. No doubt Paul was thinking about this when he said that they had problems in their church that were not even named among the wicked gentiles. The passage stands to remind us that people are taking note of what we say and how WE ought to LIVE WHAT WE PREACH. I'm bothered today by the glaring inconsistencies in what I hear some people of God preach and espouse and then what I see them live and look over in their own lives.
We see examples of this all the time. I am dismayed when I hear a fella say you can't be right with God if you own a TV then find out six months later he's got his back. Friends we need to live what we preach! If you can't live it, don't preach it. I might also add if you haven't been living it a little while you might want to hold off preaching it till you have. The Lord spoke about this practice in Luke 11:46, He said, "Woe unto you… ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers."
I marvel at how a Pastor can fire a staff member for spiritual weakness in the staff member's family and then turn around and cover up the sin in his own family or change the standard when his family gets grown. Preacher, don't you ever forget you will stand before God! Be sure your sin will find you out!
I'm amazed at some of the brethren who disassociate from other brethren on the merits of "Secondary Separation" who then reassociate when it benefits them. I am astonished at some hypocrites who "mark the brethren" at a conference or camp meeting when it makes them look bold and strong, and then go and preach for these same "marked" brethren when they get invited. Peter had no trouble with the Gentiles when the Jews weren't around but he couldn't fellowship when certain of the Brethren were there. He got nailed for this. I thank God for Paul who confronted Peter in Galatians 2:11, "when Peter was come to Antioch… withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." It would help a lot of folks if they'd be slower to speak. It wouldn't hurt if we thought before we took a stand.
We are told in Psalms 118:8, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." Someone else said, "The Best of Men are still men at best". Don't get your sights set on men; they'll disappoint you. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Be careful what you preach! If you can't live it, keep your mouth shut until you can. God's people need to see consistency not hypocrisy. We need to Live what we Preach!
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