Fun fact: I used to be an actor.
This one time in college, I played the role of Oklahoma State University's mascot, Pistol Pete. I played him, but I wasn't him; I wasn't the actual Frank 'Pistol Pete' Eaton. I was never a lawman who avenged his father's death, and I've never had a mustache. No matter how well I learned to twirl a gun or walk like I'd ridden a horse 2,000 miles, I wasn't actually him. It's one thing to pretend to be someone, and it's one thing to actually be someone. It's also one thing to say something, and it's another thing to actually do it.
I heard a great illustration the other day that went something like this:
pastor to congregation: how many of you believe in John 3:16? Anyone who believes in Jesus receives eternal life. How many of you have banked your life on that verse?
congregation: (most everyone raises their hands)
pastor: That's great! Wonderful. Okay, now how many of you believe I can shoot this balloon (holds up balloon half-way blown up) with this BB gun?
congregation: (90% of people raise their hands)
pastor: Ah, I see you all have a lot of faith in me. Okay, how many of you would hold the balloon in your hand out to the side while I shoot it?
congregation: (30% of people raise their hands)
pastor: Okay and out of you all, how many of you would hold the balloon in your teeth and let me shoot it?
congregation: (one man raises his hand)
Long story short, the pastor had the man come up and hold the balloon in his teeth, and the pastor aimed, fired and hit the balloon (much to the church's relief). It was interesting to see how many people had initial confidence in the pastor's sharp-shooting abilities, but when it came down to actually proving that trust, only one person out of everyone proved to really believe. What happens when you apply that same situation to the first question? How many folks initially say they believe in God's promises, but when it comes down to actually applying it in the real world, fall short more times than not. Personally, I would raise my hand at first, but would never, ever trust a pastor to shoot a BB gun at a balloon held between my teeth. . . Kind of like saying I would never, ever actually trust God at His Word to have complete control over my life.
I think it's called being a hypocrite (which originally meant to be an actor), and I have to admit, my acting skills are quite good. It means saying one thing, but doing another. You see, it's one thing to hear advice and not apply it, but it's another thing to give advice and not apply the advice you've given. This is something I find myself doing nearly every week. I write a blog giving advice or tips on something, and I don't take the time apply it to myself, making me a hypocrite of hypocrites. If I've given tips on getting rid of stress, what do I do the next week? I stress. I'm a hearer of the word, but not a doer of the word, and this was an issue Jesus couldn't stand.
Knowing I do this personally, I wonder how many others struggle with the same thing? Writing, speaking or giving advice to others, while all the while actually trying to write, speak and give advice to themselves to deal with what their personally struggling with. It's a situation of trying to give help to others while also giving hope to oneself, and sadly I find there's a lot of hypocrisy behind the hope I try to give. The tricky part, really, is actually believing in the hope and applying the words given. For instance, if I write that writing things down relieves stress, do I believe it enough to practice it throughout the week? So far, I usually don't. I find the same types of hypocrisy struggles in my faith life. I say I believe the word of God and all of His promises, but I don't often apply it to my life. It's quite difficult to trust God's plan, or if I do decide to 'trust' His plan or commands, I always have mine as a back up 'just in case.' It's just safer and easier to know that I have things under control.
Talk is cheap, and hypocrisy is cheaper, which may be why I'm so apt to buy into it a majority of the time. Pray for me as I continue to search for the courage, strength and boldness to apply what I write so I can begin to take not only others more seriously, but myself more seriously, as well.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: Talk is cheap, and hypocrisy is cheaper. Don't buy it.