You can talk the talk on your blog, but that’s not the same as walking the walk. It can be easy to write about Godly concepts and ideas without pursuing them in you personal life. You can write about the importance all Christians praying and reading their Bibles, but are you actually doing it also? Are you being genuine with your readers, or simply writing what you know is Godly without applying it when you’re not blogging?
If Leonard Ravenhill was alive for the Web 2.0 age he might have said something like, Public blogging should be the result of private weeping.
If you want to have impact on your readers you have to call them to realities which you are pursuing in your own life. You must have a secret life with God.
No You’re Not a Hypocrite. Don’t Stop Writing.
It’s o.k. if you don’t have it all figured out. It’s ok if you’re still on the journey. It’s called being a real person. Welcome.
If you want to call you readers to realities in God you can. You don’t have to be fully mature in your faith with 7 years experience to write about something.
The problem is that we have a wrong idea of hypocrisy. We think that if someone says something and doesn’t do it they’re a hypocrite. Like “Love Your Neighbor” for example. If someone said that and then gets mad at someone, somewhere, sometime I’m sure there’d be people pointing the finger saying ‘hypocrite.’
But let’s say that I just told you all to love others. Then, afterwards I went to Micky Dees to order a Big Mac (no I never saw Supersize Me). I’m really hungry and the guy in front of me is taking way too long to order; “Come on, bro!” … Is that annoyance and frustration that suddenly rose up in me proof of my hypocricy? No, and let me tell you why: Because what if when I feel that surge I pray, “God, help me to love my neighbor.”
What keeps me from hypocrisy is my sincerity with application.
Nobody can perfectly practice what they preach. If that was the standard we would all be hypocrites or else all suffer from lack of vision. The one being hypocritical is the one who says something without pursuing it in their own life.
Sincerity with Application
Most of us have sincerity. However, we cannot call sincerity application. Our sincerity for God must be practically applied by living a life that is without offense (from this earlier post). You do not have the option to live your life without violently pursuing holiness.
The little compromises in your life will catch up to you. The Bible calls them “Little Foxes” and it takes partnership with Jesus to catch them.
His Delight is in You
Did you know that God enjoys you in your weakness? Even though you don’t have it all figured out He thinks your something special. God enjoys us when we have a responsive heart, not a fully mature lifestyle.
We don’t have to wait until we reach the end of our journey before God can delight in us. If we have sincerity within our hearts and application (or followthrough) to the leadings of the Holy Spirit then we are on the right track.
Ronni said:
*APPLAUSE*
Thank you! Remember when I used to blog? I mean I still do a little but remember when I had a real deal blog? People would always email me about things they were going through because they identified with me. God told me one word to live by in my life. Transparency. Not so much that they know when I have a cut on my toe, but enough to let them know that I fumbled, I faltered, heck I fell flat on my face, and it was OKAY. God loved me, used me, wanted me, desired me.
It was okay one day to say “I think I have this beat!” and fail the next as long as I was truthful and said.. um… oops. Well, see? Trials suck. But they are part of this glorious journey.
Hypocrites are judgemental and won’t change. The rest of us have been humbled by God almighty enough to know exactly where we do (and do not) stand with God.
It is okay to proclaim truth and fail to live up to it. It shows the Glory of God in truth, and the depravity that we have when we trust only in ourselves.
You do not have the option to live your life without violently pursuing holiness.
May I use that?
Posted on March 5, 2007 at 9:49 pm
sarah said:
Awesome post, Shawn. I have never heard hypocrisy defined or described this way, but you really articulated it well. Bravo!
Posted on March 5, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Dennis said:
Amen, I agree and we are all growing in this. BTW…I just wrote on little foxes a while ago at my site.
Posted on March 6, 2007 at 6:01 am
BenDShaffer said:
Nice. I like this post. “His strength is made perfect in our weakness.”
When I try to help my daughters with something (zipping a jacket, buckling a seat belt, wiping, etc.) and they will not admit that they need help, I stand back and am proved helpless. But the minute that they say,
“Daddy, I can’t do this by myself. Please help me.”
It takes me two seconds to rush in and help them, with all of my heart.
I wish I would pray that to my Daddy, too.
Posted on March 6, 2007 at 7:19 am
{Shawn} said:
@ Ronni: Go for it. Thanks for the claps.
@ Scott: That was a great post on Little Foxes. It gave me some new perspective. I had to dig around to find it though. In the future you can feel free to post relevant links such as that one.
@ BenD: Thanks for the info on wiping…
Posted on March 6, 2007 at 9:11 am
ChriS said:
Shawn,
Most heart piercing post I have read in a long while. The “spirit of Ravenhill’s” been resurrected. Public blogging should be the result of private weeping.
Sincerity with application…I am still meditating on that one! Thanks
Posted on March 6, 2007 at 9:54 am
{Shawn} said:
Thanks Chris.
Posted on March 6, 2007 at 11:42 am
Jesse Gardner said:
Isn’t it so interesting to consider the differences between what someone perceives about you via your blog and what you really are?
Sometimes I wonder if people know I’m an associate pastor by reading my blog; but then, do I really want to smack people in the face with that? My Christianity is latent, infused into everything I do, affecting both thoughts and actions; so while I may not always be oozing Christ, His Word is still shaping my words.
Does that make any sense?
Posted on March 7, 2007 at 7:43 am
Idhrendur said:
Thank you for this. I feel more qualified (on that front at least) to be writing some of the stuff I am on my blog.
Posted on March 15, 2007 at 12:13 pm
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Posted on March 17, 2007 at 12:01 am