This blog post is relatively concise and straightforward. Why don’t we always mean what we say? I understand that this is a broad statement, so let me clarify. While I was watching hearings on Capitol Hill, people were being “grilled” by “lawmakers” about their fitness to serve in the incoming administration. I could only watch briefly because I couldn’t bear to witness anymore. The hypocrisy in the room was palpable. People were accusing or being accused of allegations, yet they were guilty of the same things themselves.
My mind immediately went to two passages in the Scriptures. John 16:30 says, “Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” That declaration reminds me that God knows us. He knows our hearts and minds. Knowing this, let me suggest the second passage: John 8:3-7. They brought a woman before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. According to the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with His finger. When they kept questioning Him, He stood up and said, “Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
The people accusing the woman caught in the act of adultery were not wrong in their accusations. But they were hypocrites, and their hypocrisy blinded them to the flaws in their own behavior. My takeaway is found in Galatians 6:1, which says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But beware, or you too may be tempted.”