Isaiah 58:1-5

“Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practised righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God.” vs. 2

As the prophet describes the nation of Israel his words are dripping with sarcasm. He notes that day after day they maintain a facade, practicing the externals of religion by drawing near and delighting to know the ways of the Lord, and imagining that they are righteous and obedient.

 As citizens of a nation that parades its godliness before the world, and that claims to promote the commandments and precepts of God, we know well our own hypocrisy. Our leaders wear lapel pins and jewelry that feature the cross of Christ, even claiming that America is a Christian nation, while at the same time cutting programs for the hungry and the needy, shutting down aid to the poorest people on earth, and refusing asylum to refugees fleeing persecution and famine. It’s as though we have never heard from the mouth of Jesus that nations are judged, not by their attention to the tax needs of the rich and privileged, but by their care for the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, and imprisoned of the world. 

The standards of the Kingdom of God are beyond clear. Nevertheless, some of the most religious and pious people in our land act as though what Jesus said has nothing to do with them.

Thought for the Day: Why are we blind to our own hypocrisy?