Worship Service or Lip Service! -

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Matthew 15:7-9 "Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Most of the Pharisees' attack on Jesus had to do with the fact that they accused Jesus of teaching his disciples to break the Jewish Law, or at least not calling them on it when they did.  They used various examples such as the disciple's not washing their hands on the Sabbath.  Jesus points out their hypocrisy in their own breaking of the law to honor your father and mother.  Some taught that if one dedicated their savings to God, then they were exempt from having to use it to help out their parents.  
The lie of hypocrisy can plague any of us if we don't guard our heart which the Proverbs says, "is the wellspring of all life"
David Guzik writes,
"This was true of the religious leaders Jesus confronted and quoted the passage from Isaiah 29:13 to0. Yet it may also be true of us. We can appear to draw near to God, all the while having our heart far from Him. It is easy to want and be impressed by the image of being near to God without really doing it with our heart. God is interested in the internal and the real. We are far more interested in the merely external and image. One must take care that their relationship with God is not merely external and image."
The essence of hypocrisy is to be a pretender.  A hypocrite who projects an image of being spiritual giant while their heart is very small.  Jesus cares more about our heart condition than anything else.  A heart that is submitted to him and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  
We should be careful when we judge other people as hypocrites, but instead focus more on our own relationship with Christ.  It is easy for any Christian to project an image of godliness, when on the inside they are far away God.  It is only by abiding in Jesus and being led by the Holy Spirit can we truly live the life Jesus has called us to live.
The cry of Christians being hypocrites is sounded often today.  The best solution is a Christian whose life and lips are in alignment.  As we worship God with our lips on Sunday, may we honor God with our lives the rest of the week.  This is what God wants and the world needs to see.  The world won't know we are Christians by our image management,but by our authentic love for God and others.  May what we say on our lips match we do with our lives!  This is what an unbelieving world might just find believable.


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