The State of Hypocrisy

Being in the state of moral hypocrisy, a person knows what God requires of him and sees the inconsistency of his life with God’s law, but does not strive to reform his heart; rather he strives only to appear pious. The goal for which he strives to display his piety is to turn the attention of others upon himself, to gain their praise and respect or better to conceal and more successfully accomplish certain selfish or unclean intentions. The clearest example of hypocrisy with its chief characteristics can be seen in the Pharisees. They loved to pray in open places and in crowded gatherings “so that they may be seen by people” (Matt. 6:5). They performed long prayers to deceive pious women with their piety and dispose them toward generous almsgiving; they gave alms publicly “so that they will be honored by men” (Matt. 6:2); they showed great zeal for their religion, crossing sea and land to convert others to it, but at the same time made those converted “twice as much a child of hell” (Matt. 23:15), because they did not strive to reform them and teach them true knowledge of God, but only instilled their hypocrisy and great respect for the traditions of the elders, joined with neglect of God’s commandments.