Hypocrisy in Christian preaching highlights the danger of professing faith outwardly without genuine obedience or transformation (Matthew 7:21). Illustrations often use images of deceptive appearances, double-mindedness, and insincere actions to contrast true inward faith with mere outward show (James 1:22). It warns against self-deception and calls for authentic living consistent with God's will.
Formal religion can be mere pretense, fooling others into thinking one is truly godly.
Dædalus, by art, made images to move of themselves, insomuch that people thought they were living. Formalists do so counterfeit and play devotion, that others think they are living saints: they are religious mountebanks. J. Watson.
Some treat prayer and religion as occasional, not a sincere daily commitment.
Too many of us are like the little girl, who, at the close of her evening-prayer one day, said, "Now, good-by, God; good-by, Jesus Christ: I'm going to Boston to-morrow." C. D. Foss.
Some pursue goodness only for personal gain, not genuine godliness.
Of how many may it be said, as Tacitus of Galba, no man fitter to be an emperor, if he had not been an emperor! How many have been good commonwealth's men, gallant patriots, till they came to be statesmen! As if men minded goodness only to make them great, and then bid it farewell, as he that always had a fishing-net spread on his table till he got a bishopric, and then caused it to be laid aside, saying he had what he fished for.
— Venning
Swearing as a prince does not excuse the archbishop's sin before God.
An elector of Cologne (who was also an archbishop), one day swearing profanely, asked a peasant, who seemed to wonder, what he was so surprised at. "To hear an archbishop swear," was the answer. "I swear," replied the elector, "not as an archbishop, but as a prince."—"But, my lord," said the peasant, "when the prince goes to the Devil, what will become of the archbishop?"
False tears and prayers are paraded like Pharisees, lacking true heart devotion.
Sooner mayest thou trust thy pocket to a pickpocket than give loyal friendship to the man who boasts of eyes to which the heart never mounts in dew. Only when man weeps he should be alone; not because tears are weak, but they should be secret. Tears are akin to prayer. Pharisees parade prayers, impostors parade tears.
— Bulcer
Young men hide a dead companion's body during a card game at a ball, showing hardened hearts.
PLAYERS AND THEIR DEAD COMPANION.—During the progress of a ball in one of the towns of New Hampshire, four of the young men retired to play cards. While at their game, one of their number fell down in a fit and expired. But the others rolled his dead body under the table, covered it up with cloaks, and said nothing about it till the ball was over. How do such amusements petrify the better feelings, and make man's heart more hard than that of some of the brutes! For some of the brutes would have shown more sympathy for a dying companion than was exhibited in the case before us.
A religious woman’s hypocrisy is revealed in her fearful death, exposing the danger of outward religion without true faith.
The following fact is related by the author of Pastoral Letters. N— was a branch of a pious family, some of whose ancestors were martyrs. She was religiously educated by her pious parents; and her education, particularly her knowledge of history, was extensive. In her study of history the progress of religion had attracted her chief attention. Religious topics were her element; her remarks often evinced the correctness and vigor of her judgment; and she often delighted the social circle by her striking application of the current matters of conversation to the subject of religion. Like the rest of the pious family, she seemed devoted to all the duties of a Christian, with only one exception, and this they wondered at; that she did not attend with them at the Lord's table. All regarded her as an ornament of religion, and urged her to take a part in this ordinance.
In one year N— lost both her pious parents, and she had just put off mourning, when she was taken desperately ill. Having been on terms of intimacy with the family, I was sent for at her request to visit the dying sister. I certainly went prepared to see a Christian die: but what was my astonishment to behold those features, instead of smiling in death, as I expected, clothed in all the horrors of mental agony! Bidding me sit down, and ascertaining there were no witnesses, she addressed me in nearly these terms: I am glad you are come: I cannot bear to go out of the world a deceiver, but I am unable to tell the sad secret of my heart to those about me, it would be too much for them to bear. I am not the character my friends have supposed. I am not religious—do not interrupt me—I have talked about religion, my passions have often felt the powers of the world to come, and my imagination roved at large among things unseen; I have amused myself with these matters, and regarded with the interest of an amateur their effects upon minds whom I reckoned of an inferior order, though ennobled by a birth from heaven. But amidst all, my own heart has never loved religion as a personal thing: indeed, I have never concerned myself about it for myself, and now I must die without any of its prospects, and be shut out forever from all its enjoyments."
I paused a moment and began to observe that "Life is the season of hope," and admitting all I heard to be correct, still the Savior's saying, "Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out," is equally entitled to credit. But she cut me short, observing, "The vigor of my youth and the strength of my intellect I have wasted in living to myself; I never cared for the divine approbation; and God is justly my adversary. Cast down as I am, I cannot go with a piteous tale of misery to petition for mercy for which I can plead no services, nor live to show any gratitude. I know already what you would say to these sentiments—you would hold out mercy as yet attainable; but my heart revolts at it. Heaven would be no heaven to me on the terms I can only enter it. I have been a worthless idler, and cannot endure to receive the reward of a faithful soldier."
Surprised as I was, I endeavored to enforce the necessity of renouncing such sentiments, and was urging that a good confession, though late, would find acceptance, when she interrupted me with some energy: "No, sir, spare me, spare yourself, my character is finished; what I am that shall I be forever. The tree is even now falling: it is too late to direct where its trunk shall be extended on the earth."
The doctor coming in, I soon after took my leave, intending to renew my visit, but in the morning learned that N— had expired in the night.
Hypocrisy of some Christians causes others to reject Christianity altogether.
Mr. Brainerd informs us, that when among the American Indians, he stopped at a place where there was a great number, and offered to instruct them in the truths of Christianity. "Why," said one of them, "should you desire the Indians to become Christians, seeing the Christians are so much worse than the Indians? The Christians lie, steal, and drink, worse than the Indians. They first taught the Indians to be drunk. They steal to so great a degree, that their rulers are obliged to hang them for it; and even that is not enough to deter others from the practice. But none of the Indians were ever hanged for stealing; and yet they do not steal half so much. We will not consent, therefore, to become Christians, lest we should be as bad as they. We will live as our fathers lived, and go where our fathers are, when we die." Notwithstanding that Mr. B. did all he could to explain to them that these were not Christians in heart, and that he did not want them to become such as these, he could not prevail on them to accept his doctrine, but left them, mortified at the thought that the wickedness of some, who professed Christianity, should produce such prejudices.
Inconsistent Christian behavior discredits their message and faith to others.
I heard, says a Christian minister, an excellent sermon to young people, on a New Year's day, in the morning. The text was, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil," Eph. v. 16. The minister then went to dine and spend the rest of the day with a party, where the time was spent in feasting, levity, and folly. Late in the evening, one of the party observed, "Really this is a poor way of redeeming the time." "Pok!" said another, "it is all a farce." Let ministers and others beware lest their inconsistencies should lead any to deride the religion they profess.
Atheists are astonished Christians live worldly lives despite professing true faith.
An atheist being asked by a professor of Christianity, "how he could quiet his conscience in so desperate a state?" replied, "As much am I astonished as yourself, that believing the Christian religion to be true, you can quiet your conscience in living so much like the world. Did I believe what you profess, I should think no care, no diligence, no zeal enough." Alas! that there should still, by Christians, be so much cause given for the astonishment of atheists!
Skepticism may be too strong a virtue for some, revealing human weakness.
It is stated, in the "Life of Dr. Beattie," by Sir W. Forbes, that Mr. Hume was one day boasting to Dr. Gregory, that, among his disciples in Edinburgh, he had the honor to reckon many of the fair sex. "Now tell me," said the doctor, "whether, if you had a wife or a daughter, you would wish them to be your disciples? Think well before you answer me; for I assure you, that whatever your answer is, I will not conceal it." Mr. Hume, with a smile, and some hesitation, made this reply:— "No; I believe skepticism may be too sturdy a virtue for a woman."
A court jester exposes the hypocrisy of defending faith by human titles.
Henry VIII king of England, wrote a silly book against Martin Luther, for which the Pope conferred on him the title "Defender of the Faith." As that tyrant appeared to be overjoyed at the acquisition, the Jester of the court asked the reason; and being told that it was because the Pope had given him that new title, the *shrewd fool* replied— “My good Harry, let thee and me defend each other, and *let the faith alone to defend itself!*” That pretended buffoon
## TRACTS, I
### HAPPY EFFECTS OF TRACTS.
#### 411. Morality Promoted.
Outward religious profession without true inner life is hypocrisy and offends God.
Beware of going to greater length in profession than the inner life will stand—of being ambitious to be counted religious and liberal while secretly cherishing selfish motives. This is lending oneself to the devil and is an affront to God
A deathbed confession reveals a hypocrite's spiritual delusion and Satan's presence.
A lady who had passed for a devoted Christian came to the portals of death. But what a sequel. Now, upon her deathbed she confessed that her life had been hypocritical, and declared that Satan stood by her bed. When requesting a drink of water, she asked that it might be brought from a distance, as that at home tasted of brimstone.
Exhibiting false virtues leads to loss of honor and suspicion even of genuine qualities.
What multitudes of mahogany-handled drawers there are to be met with in daily life labelled in black on a gold ground, with swelling and mysterious names of precious healing drugs, but, alas! they are handles which do not pull out, or drawers that are full of nothing. What myriads of empty bottles make up your enormous stock, in the universal emporium so largely advertised! What a noble army of canisters filled with air stand marshalled in shining ranks, as if they were fresh from China, and brimming with the fragrant leaf! Now, in mere business such things may answer well enough, but bring them into your moral dealings, and you shall soon become contemptible. One smiles at the busy tradesman arranging the shams in his window, but- we are indignant with a man who exhibits unreal virtues and excellences; he thinks that he makes a fair show in the flesh, but when we have found him out once, even what may be genuine in him is subjected to suspicion, and the man's honour is hopelessly gone.
Children recognized hypocrisy when a Christian leader attended the theater and lost influence.
Let me tell you how I had my eyes opened about the theater question. I had an assistant superintendent of a Sunday school, a very promising young man, who seemed to be very happy in the work. A star actor came to the city, and he went to see him. I knew nothing of it, but the next Sunday when he came into the Sunday-school all over the building the boys cried out:
“Hypocrite! Hypocrite!”
The perspiration started out of every pore of my body; I thought they were looking at me. I said to the little newsboys:
“Who are you calling a hypocrite?”
They mentioned the assistant’s name. I asked the reason, and they said:
“We saw him going into the theater.”
I had never said anything about the theater to those children, but they saw that man going in, and called him a hypocrite. They seemed to know it was no place for a Christian to go. He lost his influence entirely, withdrew from the school, and after a while gave up Christian work altogether. He was just swept along with the tide in Chicago and his influence was lost.
Words without consistent Christian conduct render one’s testimony worthless and hypocritical.
A man may preach with the eloquence of an angel, but if he doesn’t live what he preaches, and act out in his home and his business what he professes, his testimony goes for naught, and the people say it is all hypocrisy after all; it is all a sham. Words are very empty, if there is nothing back of them. Your testimony is poor and worthless, if there is not a record back of that testimony consistent with what you profess. What we need is to pray to God to lift us up out of this low, cold, formal state that we live in, that we may dwell in the atmosphere of God continually, and that the Lord may lift upon us the light of His countenance, and that we may shine in this world, reflecting His grace and glory.
Formalism and hypocrisy prioritize human opinion over God's truth and commands.
In Mrs. Grant's "Letters from the Mountains" (1806), is the following anecdote of the then Duchess of Gordon. "The duchess said that on Sunday she never saw company, nor played cards, nor went out: in England, indeed, she did so, because every one else did the same, but she would not introduce those manners into this country (Scotland). I stared at these gradations of piety growing warmer as it came northward, but was wise enough to stare silently." The tricks of formalism and hypocrisy are evermore the same. Man is regarded more than God. What Mrs. Grundy may say has far more influence with many than what the Lord may say. This is miserable meanness and rank impiety.
Hypocrisy is like a decorative wall covering hiding damp, symbolizing concealed ungodliness.
In the olden times even the best rooms were usually of bare brick or stone, damp, and mouldy, but over these in great houses when the family was resident, were hung up arras or hangings of rich materials, between which and the wall persons might conceal themselves, so that literally walls had cars. It is to be feared that many a brave show of godliness is but an arras to conceal rank hypocrisy; and this accounts for some men's religion being but occasional, since it is folded up or exposed to view as need may demand. Is there no room for conscience to pry between thy feigned profession and thy real ungodliness, and bear witness against thee? Remember, if conscience do it not, certainly "the watcher and the Holy One" will make a thorough search within thee.
A hollow sound from a cheese illustrates how some appear godly but lack true substance.
In the pursuit of pastoral duty, I stood a little while ago in a cheesemonger's shop, and being in a fidgety humour, and having a stick in my hand, I did what most Englishmen are sure to do, I was not content with seeing, but must needs touch as well. My stick came gently upon a fine cheese in the window, and to my surprise a most metallic sound emanated from it. The sound was rather hollow, or one might have surmised that all the tasteholes had been filled up with sovereigns, and thus the cheese had been greatly enriched, and the merchant had been his own banker. There was, however, a sort of crockery jingle in the sound, like the ring of a huge bread or milk pan, such as our country friends use so abundantly; and I came to the very correct conclusion that I had found a very well got-up hypocrite in the shop window. Mark, from this time, when I pass by, I mentally whisper, "Pottery;" and the shams may even be exchanged for realities, but I shall be long in believing it. In my mind the large stock has dissolved into potsherds, and the fine show in the window only suggests the potter's vessel. The homely illustration is simply introduced because we find people of this sort in our churches, looking extremely like what they should be, yet having no substance in them, so that if, accidentally, one happens to tap them somewhere or other with sudden temptation or stern duty, the baked earth gives forth its own ring, and the pretender is esteemed no longer.
Closed shop fronts with secret trade illustrate outward obedience masking inward sinfulness.
The shops in the square of San Marco were all religiously closed, for the day was a high festival: we were much disappointed, for it was our last day, and we desired to take away with us some souvenirs of lovely Venice; but our regret soon vanished, for on looking at the shop we meant to patronise, we readily discovered signs of traffic within. We stepped to the side door, and found when one or two other customers had been served, that we might purchase to our heart's content, saint or no saint. After this fashion too many keep the laws of God to the eye, but violate them in the heart. The shutters are up as if the man no more dealt with sin and Satan; but a brisk commerce is going on behind the scenes. From such deceit may the Spirit of truth preserve us.
Counterfeit godliness is easy and cheap but leads to spiritual ruin like false money.
The counterfeit will always have some admirers, from its cheapness in the market. One must dig deep in dark mines for gold and silver; the precious treasure must be brought from far across the seas; it must be melted down, it must pass through many assays, and the dies must be worked with ponderous engines before the coin can be produced; all this to the sluggish many is a heavy disadvantage. Hush! hearken! steal silently upstairs; the spirit of deceit invites you to her chamber; a little plaster of Paris, a fire, a crucible, molten lead, the mould, and there is your money, sir, without troubling Peru, Potosi, California, or the Mint. Slink out and change your fine new shillings, and your fortune's made without the ignoble waste of sweat and labour. But be quiet, for a detective may be near, a coarse-minded minion of unpoetic law, who may cruelly block up your road, or even lead you into prison. Short cuts to wealth have brought many to the hulks; and, let me add, there are short cuts to godliness which have brought many to perdition!
Religious hypocrisy is shown by condemning one form of idolatry while practicing another.
The orthodox Greek churchman is scandalised at the image-worship of the Romanist; it is flat idolatry, and he denounces it vehemently. But what are those pictures in the Russian churches, many of them made to stand out in relief with solid plates of gold and silver? Why, these are pictures of the Virgin or of her Son, as the case may be, and your anti-idolatrous Greek bows before these with voluntary humility. He hates image-worship, you see, but stands up for picture-worship. Behold how sinners disagree in name and unite in spirit! Put Greek and Roman in a sack together, and let the greatest idolater out first: the wisest solution would be to keep them both in the sack, for Solomon himself would be puzzled to select the most guilty. Are there not such inconsistencies among ourselves? Do we not condemn in one form what we allow in another? Do we not censure in our neighbours what we allow in ourselves? This query need not be answered in a hurry; the reply will be the more extensive for a little waiting.
Pretended generosity without true sacrifice is a hollow and hypocritical act.
retaining, however, for his man use, the revenues thereof! A solemn deed was drawn up, signed, sealed, and delivered, and it bears date 1478. What a ridiculous farce! The instrument gives away just nothing at all. But are there no such farces among us? When men of mean and miserly dispositions sing certain of our hymns, are they not guilty of just such a pretence of generosity? With abundance of goods in their power, they fumble for a threepenny-piece in their pockets, singing, meanwhile,
Zeal for God can mask selfish motives, like loving Christ only for personal gain.
be zeal for gold. The Emperor Maximilian showed great zeal against idolatry, and published a decree that gold and silver images should be melted down. He was extremely zealous about this. The images were all to be melted down, and the metal forfeited to the Emperor. It was shrewdly suspected that this great iconoclast was not altogether swayed by unselfish motives. When a business brings grist to the mill it is not hard to keep to it. Some love Christ because they carry His bag for Him.
Some oppose harmless pleasures because they dislike others enjoying them, not the harm involved.
Macaulay said that “the Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.” I once knew a man of this type who rooted up his wife’s flower-bed on the ground that attention to flowers was a wicked waste of time that ought to be given to the study of the Bible.
— W. C. S
Criticism often condemns people no matter their actions or circumstances.
See CYNIC REBUKED; JUDGING, CARE IN.
CRITICISM, CARPING
If he is poor, he is a bad manager. If he is rich, he is dishonest.
If he needs credit, he can’t get it. If he is prosperous, every one wants to do him a favor.
If he’s in politics, it’s for pie. If he is out of politics, you can’t place him, and he’s no good for his country.
If he doesn’t give to charity, he’s stingy. If he does, it’s for show.
If he is actively religious, he is a hypocrite. If he takes no interest in religion, he’s a hardened sinner.
If he shows affection, he’s a soft specimen. If he seems to care for no one, he is cold-blooded.
If he dies young, there was a great future ahead of him. If he lives to an old age, he has missed his calling.--_Christian Guardian._
Some criticize boldly without personal involvement or true understanding, showing hypocrisy.
See CHRISTIANITY, CRITICISM OF.
CRITICISM, UNHELPFUL
One of the most brilliant of our younger poets was descanting on the Chinook vocabulary, in which a Chinook calls an Englishman a Chinhog to this day, in memory of King George. And this writer says that when they have a young chief whose warpaint is very perfect, whose blanket is thoroughly embroidered, whose leggings are tied up with exactly the right colors, and who has the right kind of star upon his forehead and cheeks, but who never took a scalp, never fired an arrow, and never smelled powder, but was always found at home in the lodges whenever there was anything that scented of war--he says the Chinooks called that man by the name of “Boston Cultus.” You have seen these people, as I have seen them, as everybody has seen them--people who sat in Parker’s and discust every movement of the campaign in the late war, and told us that it was all wrong, that we were going to the bad, but who never shouldered a musket. They are people who tell us that the immigration, that the pope of Rome, or the German element, or the Irish element, is going to play the dogs with our social system, and yet they never met an immigrant on the wharf or had a word of comfort to say to a foreigner.
— EDWARD EVERETT HALE
Hypocrites who criticize Christians resemble dogs licking sores, not helping the afflicted.
The late A. T. Gordon, D.D., told this incident:
A certain infidel, a blacksmith, was in the habit when any one came into his shop of telling what some Christian brother or deacon or minister had done, and say, “That is one of their fine Christians we hear so much about!”
An old gentleman, an eminent Christian, one day went into the shop; the infidel soon began about what some Christians had done. The old deacon stood a few moments, and listened, and then quietly asked the infidel if he had read the story in the Bible about the rich man and Lazarus.
“Yes, many a time; and what of it?”
“Well, you remember about the dogs; how they came and licked the sores of Lazarus? Now,” said the deacon, “do you know, you just remind me of those dogs--content to merely lick the Christian’s sores.”
The blacksmith grew suddenly pensive, and hasn’t had much to say about failing Christians since. (Text.)
A politician feigns common interests to gain favor, revealing insincere motives.
“Yes,” said the candidate, “I’m going out among the farmers to-day--to a pumpkin show, or jackass show, or something of that sort. Not that I care for pumpkins or jackasses, but I want to show the people that I am one of them.”
A hypocrite thanks God publicly but takes personal credit privately for success.
LITTLE WILLIE--Say, pa, what is a hypocrite?
PA--A hypocrite, my son, is a man who publicly thanks Providence for his success, then gets mad every time anybody insinuates that he isn’t mainly responsible for it himself.--_Tit-Bits._
Secret sins undermine public godliness, like a merchant cheating customers secretly.
* * * * *
When one proceeds after the fashion of certain processions, that take one step back every time they take two forward, what is there astonishing if he does not cover any appreciable distance? But man has the silly childishness to believe that what he does at certain hours and without the pale of that part of his life which is known, does not count. He flatters himself that the assets alone will figure in the final reckoning; that what he puts openly in the balance will be weighed, but that what he secretly withdraws will not be deducted. Like that merchant, at once pious and crafty, who, on Sunday closed his shop, but received his patrons through a side door, he honors God publicly, and, in secret, betrays Him. (Text.)--CHARLES WAGNER, “The Gospel of Life.”
A tree covered in ice looks beautiful but is cold and lifeless, like hypocrisy.
I
ICE BEAUTY
If we had not our bewitching autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one feature which compensates for all its bullying vagaries--the ice-storm--when a leafless tree is clothed with ice from the bottom to the top--ice that is as bright and clear as crystal; every bough and twig is strung with ice-beads, frozen dew-drops, and the whole tree sparkles cold and white, like the Shah of Persia’s diamond plume. Then the wind waves the branches, and the sun comes out and turns all those myriads of beads and drops to prisms, that glow and hum and flash with all manner of colored fires, which change and change again, with inconceivable rapidity, from blue to red, from red to green, and green to gold; the tree becomes a sparkling fountain, a very explosion of dazzling jewels; and it stands there the acme, the climax, the supremest possibility in art or nature of bewildering, intoxicating, intolerable magnificence!
— SAMUEL L. CLEMENS
Brazen wrongdoing can be accompanied by shameless confidence and public boasting.
Unblushing assurance in rascality is not a new thing in the world.
A firm of shady outside London brokers was prosecuted for swindling, says _Everybody’s_. In acquitting them, the court, with great severity, said:
“There is not sufficient evidence to convict you, but if any one wishes to know my opinion of you I hope that you will refer to me.”
Next day the firm’s advertisement appeared in every available medium, with the following well displayed: “Reference as to probity, by special permission, the Lord Chief Justice of England.”
Human hypocrisy often masks true intentions, revealing the deceitfulness of the heart.
There is no place where human nature can be studied to better advantage, or public opinion be more quickly ascertained, than in the office of a railroad president. It helps the railway president if he is also a politician and a man of the world. The experience tends to cynicism and cultivates the theory which gives too great prominence to the influence of association and point of view in fixing creeds, faiths, churchmanship and partizanship. The visitor always tried to make the president believe that he came for some other purpose than the real object of his mission. Why men believe they can succeed better in what they seek by this sort of fraud, is a mystery. The most curious exhibit is the man of many millions, who pretends that he wishes to consult you in regard to investments in the securities of your company, and ends by asking for a pass.
— CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW
Constant laughter without depth can mask shallow character and fail in serious times.
There is certainly no harm in a good laugh, and truly it is not forbidden to a jester to speak the truth. Yet the laugh must have the right ring to it. Socrates laughed, and Voltaire laughed, as Thomas Erskine remarked; yet, as he said, what a difference in the laugh of the two! And the man who laughs all the time will not know what to do when the hour of weeping comes. The laughing philosopher is a very shallow philosopher or else a very shallow laugher. An awful gravity which comes from a man taking himself too seriously is a thing which irresistibly invites a tweaking of the nose; but a ridicule which beats and splashes on all sides and at all times, fixing its pasquinades nightly on the statues of our national heroes, smirking in the presence of names and thoughts that ought to be shrouded in sacred reverence, is one of the things that no right soul can abide.--_Christian Union._
Trying to hide faults with outward appearances does not bring true comfort.
When the physician prescribed blisters to Marie Bashkirtseff to check her consumptive tendency, the vain, cynical girl wrote: “I will put on as many blisters as thee like. I shall be able to hide the mark by bodices trimmed with flowers and lace and tulle, and a thousand other delightful things that are worn, without being required; it may even look pretty. Ah! I am comforted.” (Text.)
Jesus warns against ostentatious giving that seeks public attention rather than God’s approval.
The boxes in the temple treasury were shaped like trumpets. Jesus said, “Do not make a trumpet of the box; it looks like one, but do not use it for the purpose of calling attention to what you are about to put into it.” (Text.)
People often pretend to be something they are not, deceiving others by appearances.
About the time when it was fashionable in France to cut off men’s heads, as we lop away superfluous sprouts from our apple-trees, the public attention was excited by a certain monkey that had been taught to act the part of a patriot to great perfection. If you pointed at him, says the historian, and called him an aristocrat or a monarchist, he would fly at you with great rage and violence; but, if you would do him the justice to call him a good patriot, he manifested every mark and joy of satisfaction. But, tho the whole French nation gazed at this animal as a miracle, he was, after all, no very strange sight. There are, in all countries, a great many monkeys who wish to be thought patriots, and a great many others who believe them such. But, because we are often deceived by appearances, let us not believe that the reality does not exist.
— DANIEL WEBSTER
Loud pretenders often fail while quiet, steady workers succeed in life’s race.
* * * * *
At a recent horse-race one of the horses attracted a great deal of attention before the start by his remarkable appearance, and many spectators thought he would surely win. He was so full of life, and so eager to begin the race, that he broke through the barrier and ran several hundred feet before the jockey could stop him. The animal was full of confidence and life, but he finished fifteenth in a race of sixteen.
This horse furnished a pretty good illustration of the human bluffer, the man who struts and brags, who makes great pretensions, lots of noise, but never gets anywhere. The silent, unpretentious man, who keeps pegging away, distances him in the great life race.--_Success Magazine._
Pretense of virtue can be exposed by subtle attempts to bribe or manipulate.
See ENVY GRATIFIED.
PRETENSE OF VIRTUE
It is a cynical saying that “every man has his price,” but it is difficult at times to judge what any man might do under stress of unusual circumstances. An illustration of this point is the following:
A Scots business representative called upon a firm whose principal desired to make him a Christmas present. The honest fellow was scandalized. He could not dream of accepting presents. If such a thing were in the minds of the firm, let them transfer their favor in the shape of discount to the house which he represented. They did not mean anything of the sort, they told him; this was a little matter personal to himself. He threw back his shoulders; he was not to be bribed. “Oh, but this is no bribe,” he was answered; “all we propose to do is to offer you a nice box of cigars, for which you shall give us, say, sixpence.” The choler of the virtuous one died away. He put his hand into his pocket and drew forth a coin. “I’m to take a box and give you sixpence? Well, I havena’ a sixpence. Here’s a shillin’; I’ll tak’ twa boxes!”
Fear and pain can be exaggerated, leading to false claims and sympathy seeking.
An English writer thus speaks of an indiscreet adventure of a costermonger and an electric eel:
Before this gymnotus was publicly exhibited it was deposited at a French hotel in the neighborhood of Leicester Square. A burly fishmonger’s man, named Wren, brought in the daily supply of fish to the establishment, when some of the servants told him they had an eel so large that he would be afraid to pick it up. He laughed at the idea of being afraid of an eel, and when taken to the tub boldly plunged in both hands to seize the fish. A hideous roar followed this attempt. Wren had experienced a demonstration of the “psychic force” of the electrical eel, and his terror so largely exaggerated the actual violence of the shock, that he believed for the remainder of his life that he was permanently injured by it. He had periodical spasms across the chest, which could only be removed by taking a half-quarter of gin. As he was continually narrating his adventure to public-house audiences, and always had a spasm on concluding, which his hearers usually contributed to relieve, the poor fellow’s life was actually shortened by the shock from the gymnotus.
The man’s recurring pains usually made their appearance at places and times when thirst could be quenched. Many bodily ills are simulated or imaginary.
Outward holiness without true character crumbles under temptation like ancient tombs.
The lives of some who are estimated as men of holiness are like the bodies in certain ancient tombs, that retain the form and features they had when living, but which crumble at a touch. They are surrounded with all the ornaments of the living, and have the shape of men, but they are only dust. So a touch of temptation or any test of life applied to some men causes their apparent saintliness to crumble.
True faith is shown by godly character, not eloquent speech or outward appearance.
In a former pastorate there was a man in my congregation who could talk like Demosthenes or Cicero. He used excellent grammar, and seemed to know the Bible pretty well from Genesis to Revelation. He could quote Longfellow, and Tennyson, and Whittier, and a stranger would be charmed by his eloquent utterances. And yet when he rose to talk in a prayer-meeting, the crowd began to wither, and when his talk was over the prayer-meeting was like a sweet-potato patch on a frosty morning, flat and blue. The people knew that in his life there was something unsavory, that he would drink before the bar with worldly friends, and that he was not as honest as he might be. His good grammar and fluent utterances did not make amends for the unsavoriness of his character. There was another man in that congregation who would sometimes come to prayer-meeting with a circle of coal-dust around his hair. He was a coal-cart driver, and he was now and then so hurried to get to the prayer-meeting that he did not make his toilet with as much care as he ought. But the people leaned over to listen when he talked. And why? Because they knew that he lived every day for God. He would pick up a tramp on the road, and give him a mile ride on his cart, that he might talk with him about Jesus. His religion tasted good. Bad religion in good grammar does not taste good. I would rather have good religion in bad grammar, than good grammar in bad religion. (Text.)
— C. A. DIXON
Hypocrisy and false pretense in faith are exposed by testing and reveal true character.
Christianity, like its Founder, is the enemy of all false pretense. Jesus’s denunciations were severest against hypocrites:
The amount of pain and discomfort which malingerers are willing to endure to obtain their discharge is almost incredible, but the facts are well attested. A limb has been held in a fixt position for many months and not even the application of the actual cautery has sufficed to move it. Many men have chopped off some fingers and have claimed that it was an accident. Mental derangement of one sort or another is a favorite form of malingery, but the results usually resemble the popular or stage idea of insanity rather than the true products of mental alienation.
The threat of the application of the actual cautery has cured paralysis, but cases have been recorded where malingerers have endured the cautery on several occasions. A man who simulated blindness was placed on the edge of a jetty and told to walk straight forward. He stept out and fell into the water, for he knew that those who were testing him dared not let him drown. In another case, however, a man who seemed to have paralysis of an arm allowed the amputating knife to be placed to it without flinching, but when thrown into the river he struck out with both arms and swam. (Text.)
It is easier to teach virtue than to live it in practice.
A Chinese legend tells of an old sage who sat at a fountain. The three founders of the principal religions of the land met him there looking for an apostle to carry his message to men. Said he in explanation of the reason why he did not go himself and carry his own message: “I can not go because only the upper part of me is flesh and blood--the lower part is stone. I can talk but can not walk. I can teach virtue, but I can not follow its teaching.”
The legend seems to be a parabolic way of pointing out the well-known fact that it is far easier to preach than to practise.
Pharisees used intricate legal reasoning to impose burdensome rules on people.
There are three hundred and sixty-five prohibitions in the law, said the Rabbins, just as many as there are days in the year, and two hundred and forty-eight positive commands, corresponding to the number of members of the body, according to their anatomy; the whole number making six hundred and thirteen precepts. “There can be no more precepts or any less,” reasoned the wise Pharisees, “because there are just six hundred and thirteen letters in the decalog.” Or if one had not liked this interpretation, they would have given him another equally satisfactory reason why there should be just six hundred and thirteen precepts. In Numbers 15:38, the Jews are commanded to wear fringes, called in the Hebrew tsitsith, upon the border of their garments. Now, as there are eight threads and five knots in each fringe, making the number thirteen, and as the letters of the word tsitsith stand in Hebrew for the number six hundred, therefore, as was proved before, there must be just six hundred and thirteen precepts in the Mosaic law. To such silly word jugglery had the Pharisees recourse in placing upon men’s shoulders burdens too grievous to be borne.--_The Golden Rule._
The Pharisee's self-centered prayer was not regarded by God because it lacked true need.
Pharisee's prayer was more soliloquy than prayer. Prayed "with himself." Not conscious of any need. Thought only of himself. God did not regard him
A prayer changes tone when the petitioner notices his audience, revealing cowardly diplomacy.
A distinguished divine was called upon to offer prayer in a mixed company, when in accordance with the custom of the times, he included in his petition to the Almighty a large measure of anathema, as “We beseech thee, O Lord! to overwhelm the tyrant! We beseech thee to overwhelm and to pull down the oppressor! We beseech thee to overwhelm and pull down the Papist!” And then opening his eyes, and seeing that a Roman Catholic archbishop and his secretary were present, he saw he must change the current of his petitions if he would be courteous to his audience, and said vehemently, “We beseech thee, O Lord! we beseech thee--we beseech thee--we beseech thee to pull down and overwhelm the Hottentot!” Said some one to him when the prayer was over, “My dear brother, why were you so hard upon the Hottentot?” “Well,” said he, “the fact is, when I opened my eyes and looked around, between the paragraphs in the prayer, at the assembled guests, I found that the Hottentots were the only people who had not some friends among the company.”
— HENRY CODMAN POTTER
A woman dies on the way to a ball, yet the dance continues as if nothing happened.
A writer in the New-York Observer, states that in the place where he resided, in 1840, there was a New Year ball. Invitations were widely extended; and a great gathering of the young, gay, and thoughtless, was anticipated. Notwithstanding the intense cold, many came from a great distance in the country round. There was one couple that set out for the ball, with merry hearts, to ride some twenty miles. The lady was young and gay, and her charms of youth and beauty were never lovelier than when dressed for that new-year ball. Clad too thinly, of course, for the season, and especially for that dreadful day, she had not gone far before she complained of being cold, very cold; but their anxiety to reach the end of the ride in time to be present at the opening of the dance, induced them to hurry on without stopping by the way. Not long after this complaining, she said she felt perfectly comfortable, was now quite warm, and that there was no necessity of delay on her account. They reached at length the house where the company was gathering: the young man jumped from the sleigh and extended his hand to assist her out; but she did not offer hers. He spoke to her, but she answered not. She was dead—stone dead—frozen stiff—a corpse on the way to a ball!
But the most shocking part of the tale remains to be told. THE BALL WENT ON! The dance was as gay, and the music as merry, as if death had never come to their door.
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