Love Without Hypocrisy

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good (Romans 12:9 NKJV).

Hypocrisy according to the dictionary is: Feigned high principles, pretense, two-facedness, double standards, and insincerity.

Here, Paul is telling us to not let our love be pretentious and two-faced.  It is almost unthinkable to use those words in the same sentence with the word love, yet the sad reality of living in a fallen world is that even something as precious and pure as love can be faked and subject to double standards.

In order to check our hearts and make certain that we are loving in a way that honors God and is not hypocritical, we would do well to look at how this same Apostle describes true love.  In 1 Corinthians 13, we find the qualities of a love that is sincere, genuine, and single hearted:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV).

From this list emerges the heartbeat of authentic, Biblical love – humility.  At the center of being able to love the way Jesus loved us, we find the mindset of Christ that was able to lay aside His Divine Nature, take on the form of a servant, and become obedient even to the death on a cross – not for His sake, but for ours.  Real love can only be experienced by the humble in heart who are willing to give up all rights for the sake of others. 

As much as I aspire to love this way in my head, I struggle daily to abandon myself enough to attain the humility necessary to experience this love.  I am thankful that God has not made the goal my ability to perfectly perform this act, but rather the constant yielding of my will to His when I am faced with choice of whether I will or not. 

Today I will look for those altars of decision that God sets before me daily to relinquish my rights to the high call of humility.  And with the power He gives me daily, I will be able to demonstrate authentic, Biblical love every time I am successful and authentic, Biblical mercy every time I am not.