The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-02-18

to cloa-- their own selfish purposes IN
the outward guise of Christianity. They
want the reputation for piety, but are
not willing to pay the price of godh-
ness.
Suppose we define the hypocrite;
for often the feeble and stumbling
saint is charged with hypocrisy when
that sin is not to be laid against him
The word itself roots back into the
ancient Greek theater: the mimic, the
pretender, the one what made gestures
to accompany an actor The Century
Dictionary says: "Hypocrite: one who
assumes a false appearance: one who
pretends to be what he is not; or to
feel or believe what he does not actual
ly feel or believe; especially, false
pretender to virtue or piety."
That implies wilfulness. A person
sincerely trying to do right, and falling
into sin, is not a hypocrite. Far worse
is the real hypocrite, for he deliberate
ly borrows the livery of heaven to use
in the service of the devil Better
shameless, out and out wickedness,
than canting hypocrisy. Ananias and
his wife plotted to get the credit for
Christian generosity without paying
the real cost. They wanted to stand
well in the Christian community. Be
cause they thought more of seeming
than of being they walked open-eyed
into the sin of deception, pretense and
downright lying.
sWorse Than a Crime-A BIunder' .
/ Nobody ever saw a happy hypocrite
He gets no joy out of his shoddy uni
form. He might be happy as saint,
! or he might have a wild time as an
| open sinner, but as hypocrite he has
neither, and falls between the two
stools. Even had his Stratagem work
/ ed, Ananias would have been out part
/ of the price of his property. His sin
was more than crime: it was a
blunder." He belongs in that classifi-
cation defined by Moody as having
4 rel ievin To lxn
miserable"
Why do writer's so often caricature
| ''deacons'' as "skinflints?" If you car
answer that you will be able to tel
why the church fathers rated avarice
as one of the seven deadly sins. Mer
who would revolt from theft or muir
der or adultery readily stoop to greed
the sin of Ananias. Avarice is one OF
/ the DEVILS traps for Christians; and i
especially besets officeholders. They
do not call it "avarice," but thrift
and good business" Usury and piet1
have often tried to keep house togeth
er. Nevertheless, avarice is made NJ
better by the fact that it is the darling
sin of so many Christians. Given time
it will introduce its six sisters into the
life.
A clergyman was telling me of s
brother who had fallen into gross sin
and then tried to lie out of it. mo
| body can be any kind of an evildoel
kdoor to any sin, and it drags in false
hood as an inseparable companion
hAnanias did not set out to tell a lie
but only to act one. But he had en-
Tered a maze that only lured hin
deeper and deeper. Then an instant
shock of clear self-revelation killed
him. That is the power of the judg
ment day. What Ananias was in hi
spirit, however, was far worse thai
what he became in his body. Death i
Icy0T lafiF fI9o 1Ao CT Of \ aetn
F Sapphire shared her husband
hypocrisy and she shared his fate.
is woman's work to help men to b.
their best selves; when they do tn
reverse, then woe unto them and so
tciety.
f Both husband and wife ceased bein;
lhypocrites the moment they died. Thel
their pious mask was torn away, as
Twill be. one. day from every one o
ius. There are no hypocrites in heaven