Openly Vile or Secretly Wicked: Which is Worse?

 "Silver Cars Get Dirty Too"

   Yesterday, I wrote a scathing report on how black cars are NOT harder to keep clean than other cars.  After reading the post, a friend of mine told me that silver cars are better than black cars.  I had forgotten to add silver cars to my list.  It appears as if I have more work to do.    

   People can be a lot like cars.  We often care more about being seen as respectable, than actually being righteous throughout.  Check out Matthew 23:27-28.  Personally, I don’t believe that the Pharisees are the only ones who deserve Christ’s accusation.  There’s a little Pharisee in many, if not all of us.

   I don’t know if I’m going to sound like a heretic or that I disagree with Jesus, but I think there might be a place for trying to look good on the outside.  What if you’re a murderer at heart?  Deep down, you’re filled with all kinds of greed, jealously, anger or hatred towards those around you, and everything within you screams, “I need to choke the life out of someone!”

  If only for the sake of appearances, I’d much prefer you to try your personal best to suppress your true self.  You’ll still be the filthy rotten murderer in your heart, but at least nobody will die.  The same goes for adulterers, child molesters and the like.  There is a place to suppress what lies beneath, even if you are living a lie.

  There is something repulsive though about people who are fake; people who smile on the outside, but are miserable within.  Or what about people who speak softly to you, but stab you in the back when you aren’t around?  It burns me when people pretend to care, when over time they prove that they don’t.  It is a form of hypocrisy and it really is wretched.

  Being openly vile isn’t acceptable either.  It does shed the veil of hypocrisy, but it makes a statement of its own.  I just finished reading an article on the internet where a person went public with their own personal sin.  That kind of life carries its own demented kind of praise in this world.  We often respect the people who have the courage to be publicly foul, ascribing to them a skewed form of courage.  Some people really are proud of the very things which should bring shame on them.  Living such a life, argues that living a shameful life is acceptable.

   Paul spoke about such people when he shared this with the believers in Philippi:

“They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.”  Philippians 3:19

   In Christian circles, we often debate which is better.  I’ve read that it’s better to be openly wicked, because there is a greater chance that the person should be able to recognize their rebellion and turn to Christ in repentance.  There are also portions of Christendom that say we just need to knuckle down and play the part, whether we feel like living right or not.

  I believe Scripture is clear that neither is acceptable.  We’re called to be holy, because God is holy.  That is tough to fake.