It’s hard to handle a hypocrite. You know the type... “Do as I say...not as I do!” They like to point fingers, call out errors, and accuse... while doing many of those exact same things in their own lives. The Bible calls it out in Matthew 7
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Hypocrisy hurts the ability to honestly communicate. It wastes energy and erodes trust. When the words don’t match the deeds, a person begins to doubt. Which part are they supposed to believe? What is truth and what isn’t? Why are they saying those words and their body language or tone is saying something completely opposite? If what they’re saying is such a good idea, why aren’t they doing it themselves?
We wouldn’t eat at a restaurant where the chef didn’t eat his own cooking would we? Of course not! If the food is good enough to serve to others it should be good enough for the one who prepared it, right? If you find yourself trying to change someone by giving them advice, make sure you aren’t sending a mixed message. People learn more from what we’re doing than from what we’re saying. And when those line up... trust builds and relationships thrive.
