Message to Myself

“Write this to the angel of the church…” Revelation 2-3

I have recently started a book by Robert J. Morgan titled, The 50 Final Events in World History: The Bible’s Last Words on Earth’s Final Days.  This book is from the Billy Graham Library Selection, and I have hopes to get through it and understand some of it. 

Chapters two (2) and three (3), are messages to seven (7) churches of the time.  To refresh your memory, each church had something which Christ pointed out they needed to correct or work on.  One statement Mr. Morgan makes this observation which stuck with me.  “There aren’t any perfect churches on earth, for all of them are filled with people like you and me who are imperfect.”  Simple but profound!

I am sure that each of you reading today has had people say to you something about the people in the church being hypocrites.  They make that their own reason for not going to church.  And you know what? Church goers can be hypocrites; they can be many other things too.  We are not perfect and because of that fact our churches are not perfect. 

What does it mean to be a hypocrite?   The word can be traced back to classical Greece. Hypocrisis means to “act upon a stage.” “Hypo” translates “beneath”—a nod to the masks worn by the actors in the theater of ancient Greece. In this light, the word conjures a picture of somebody pretending to be something they’re not, like an actor on a stage.  Hypocrisy is to claim to know and follow certain beliefs but to behave in a way that counteracts those beliefs.

How can we reason with and witness to those people who have this mind set?  Colossians 4:6 comes to mind, "Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person.”

In closing, I would like to leave you with the following statement from Mr. Morgan to meditate on.  He says, “It’s important to face our (my) imperfections and to ask the Lord to continue working in us (me) what is pleasing to Him.”

* Additions mine