“The farmer had refused to consider the church because of all the hypocrites in it. One day the preacher went to buy a pig from the farmer. He asked for the runt as his pig of choice. The farmer reluctantly sold the runt but was appalled as the preacher told him, ‘I’m telling all my friends this is the kind of pigs you raise!’”
I read this from an Internet post by a fellow preacher the other day and it made me smile. But as is so often the case the truth of this humorous story is sad. Sure the church has its hypocrites just like the litter has its runt. And certainly we don’t like it when folks cast wide sweeping judgment on the many because of the few “runts” in the litter. And it is absolutely right to point this truth out.
However, consider this observation…the runt of the litter had no choice in the matter, the hypocrite does. God’s Word is filled with warnings and condemnation of hypocrites and their duplicitous ways. Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees (Matthew 23) was not for their legalism but for their hypocrisy.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7) Jesus warned us concerning the act of pointing out the faults of others when we ourselves need to take a long look into the mirror of our own lives. This may be in the way we are living, the words we are saying, or our attitude about others and ourselves. Yes, we must point out sin and error but remember what Paul by inspiration said in Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Be certain too that none of us are immune from such hypocrisy. Not the preacher, not the elders or deacons, the Bible Class teacher, not even the most faithful brother and sister warming a pew every time the door is open. Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Paul told Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). We shouldn’t give anyone good reason to look down upon us or the Lord’s church!
The fact is there is little difference between the hypocrite in the church and the farmer’s runt. Except that the hypocrite has a choice in the matter. Are you the farmer’s runt? You don’t have to be, and your soul’s eternal destination hangs in the balance. You don’t have to be perfect… but you do have to be obedient (Hebrews 5:8-9) and be faithful (Revelation 2:10).