Why does the world call me a hypocrite? My church preaches grace, the meaning of which the world doesn’t even want to know. And yet they call me the hypocrite!
The world is full of backbiting, gossip and slander. Everywhere you go people are waiting for you to make the slightest little mistake, so that they can have a petty excuse to sue you for all you’re worth. In some countries they look for any excuse to imprison or even kill you. Yet they call Christians, who preach grace and forgiveness, hypocrites!
The world holds us to a higher standard than they would ever dream of reaching. We dare to hold the world to a standard that is actually significantly lower than the one to which we hold ourselves, and we are called legalistic. We tell each other, “Don’t hate your brother; hatred is akin to murder.” And we love our neighbor. We tell the world, “Don’t murder.” Their response is, “ Practice what you preach, instead of talking to us about it.” They tell us, “Forgive us for everything, big or small, and respect and tolerate us, no matter our actions.” They tell each other, “Hold grudges; plot revenge; show no respect; kill, kill, kill!” And they call us the hypocrites.
Why does the world demand perfection from me when they have no intent to be perfect themselves? Why do they demand I show them “tolerance,” and yet they refuse to tolerate my mistakes, no matter how small they may be? They are the hypocrites; they are the legalists.
God’s standard for human interaction is grace working through love. The world demands grace, but they will not tolerate it. They are like a child refusing to accept a gift for which they have spent the past year pleading. And when the gift is withdrawn in the giver’s confusion and hurt, they scream, “Thief! That gift is mine! Give it back!” When the gift is turned over to its intended recipient, the giver is rewarded with imprisonment, mockery, torture, and death. Not only that, but the people who commit these crimes paint the giver as the hypocrite. They will not accept the blame even for the killing.
I’m tired of the world calling me a hypocrite. They are the hypocrites, not me. I practice grace and forgiveness. They practice legalism and hatred.
I suppose I’ll have to forgive them for that. After all, it’s to be expected. It’s only the world. They really don’t know any better. Not that they want to…

This was borne out of frustration over that stupid MLA format legalism.