The Savior denounced hypocrisy as one of the worse sins. The Pharisees paid a full tithing, they gave alms to the poor, they regularly attended their worship services at the synagugoe, and they were devoutly faithful in going to the temple, yet Jesus denounced them as hypocrites. Why? In our day as well as then, a hypocrite is, among other things, a person who pretends to be a good member of the Church but who, in reality, has no desire to be Christlike and draw closer to Him, and makes a show of the good he does. The Pharisees were outwardly religious but their hearts were hard, they were selfish, dishonest, murderous in their desire to preserve their status, and their reason for doing good was to be seen of men.
The N.T. study guide says, "Now consider for a moment your own personal desires. Do you pay tithing? give fast offerings to the poor? attend your Church meetings? If you have said yes to each of these, you should be commended. But what is your purpose in doing these things? Is it for personal glory or because of social pressure, or is your motive to draw closer to Jesus Christ? What happens to hypocrisy when you put Christ in the center of what you do?"
Jesus taught that we should do acts of service in secret. I love it when I find out from others about the quiet, kind things people do, but it is quite irritating when someone tells me about all their own good deeds. I agree with the Lord that we should keep quiet about them.
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