A retired Military officer was reminiscing with other retired military people about an inspection he once conducted. He had approached an E-2 (private) who was already visibly nervous about this ranking officer’s presence. The private had just arrived to a foreign base from basic training in the States. As the officer stepped face to face with him, the rushed pulse could be seen in the throbbing throat of the young private.
The first thing that caught the officer’s eye was an unbuttoned pocket on the shirt of the private’s fatigue uniform. Getting right in the private’s face, the officer barked out his best command, “Button that pocket, soldier!” The young soldier turned three shades of red. He looked to the right and to the left and then quietly asked the officer, “Right now, sir?”
The officer, a bit angry that this private would even speak at this point, yelled into the private’s face, “Of course right now! When did you think I meant for you to do it?”
The young soldier then did something that is considered close to treason in the armed forces. He handed his weapon to the officer and with both hands trembling, he reached out and buttoned the flap on the officer’s shirt pocket.
This is a prime example of hypocrisy. The superior officer, in his haste to flaunt his authority about the private’s uniform mistake, did not even notice that he had made the same mistake.
Lovingly confronting our brothers and sisters about sin in their lives is never easy. We know that we also have sin and our lives and we are not anxious to have those thrown back at us. This is why it is imperative that we always speak in love to one another. When we need to talk to someone about their sin, we first need to look in the mirror and make sure that we are not guilty of the same thing with no intentions of changing!
Having the courage to help one another through sin is part of our responsibility as a child of God. Remember the words of Paul in Galatians 6:1, 2– 1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. There is an art to helping others through sin and it starts with keeping an eye on our own lives so we can avoid the hypocrisy trap!
Read Matthew 7:1-5