Church Matters

I was going through the John Stott commentary on the sermon
on the mount and i got to the chapter about praying and fasting, and
giving in secret. He quotes Spurgeon "To stand with a penny in one
hand and a trumpet in the other is the posture of hypocrisy." Stott
went on to say Hypocrisy in the Greek hupokrites refers to actors
playing a part. So figuratively the word came to be applied to
anybody who treats the world as a stage on witch he plays a part.

That rang a bell for me going back to my acting days when i did some
classical theater.
The Below is from Shakespeare's "As You Like It." Act 2 scene 7

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

I think this text points out that hypocrisy dominates human culture
from age to age. Even in his time Shakespeare saw that so many people
do things for show and for eyes to be on them. Even he saw the world
as a platform to play many roles. From Shakespeare to 2 Pac's "All
Eyes on Me" album, we as humans seek the approval of man and we as
Christians have to ask God to strip us of this mentality as so many of
us turn acts of worship into acts of self worship, and acts of
devotion into acting devotional. This can happen so quickly and
before you know it your patting yourself on the back for how good your
prayer sounded and how Holy you must have looked praying for that
waitress in the restaurant. I'm not saying don't pray for your
server, I'm just saying check your heart before you do to make sure
your not trying to impress your Christian friends, because if your
hearts not postured right and your not doing it out of Love for God
and his people just keep it to yourself because it is just going to
burn before the judgment seat of Christ like hay wood and stubble.
That's why i cant pray for people at the restaurant, because i would
look to glorify myself in that act, so that is my prayer that the Lord
would strip me of that desire to please man with my devotion and seek
the praise of God alone, because he is watching and he is the only one
that matters, and by God's grace and Mercy we can overcome this
worship of self.

Even as i review this post I am patting myself on the back instead of giving God the Glory for what he has shown me in his word. I am such a sinner!