Nobody likes a hypocrite. Do you? I absolutely cannot stand them. They say one thing and do another. There is no truth or integrity in word and action. They do not match. Hypocrite comes from the Greek word hypokrites which means “stage player” or “actor”. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/hypocrite-meaning-origin. The word narcissist is used often these days and their victims talk about the “mask” coming off. This does not mean that those who have a mismatch in word and deed are narcissists. That is extreme. However, there are countless examples of the standard faker. Social media have it on full display. https://prodigalus.com/perfect-social-media-lives-err-lies/ The list is exhaustive of those who do it on a regular basis. How can they go on living like that with little to no remorse and not consider the damage they cause? And they usually love themselves to add insult to injury. Therefore, they like their hypocritical selves at least enough to put themselves in front of or above you. To be fair, most people do put themselves first, so why should this be any different? Where is their sense of self-awareness? Jesus, whether you believe in him as a fictional character, wise prophet, or God himself, gave a scathing condemnation of these types in Matthew 7:5. It is not hard to find those types anywhere – church, business, politics, and among those closest to us. He talks about removing the log, or beam, out of our own eye before we start to worry about the speck causing distorted vision in the other’s eye.
Am I one? Maybe I like hypocrites. Maybe I cannot stand myself. Maybe I say one thing and do another. Come to think of it, there is a long list of instances where truth or integrity of word and action was lacking. The list is exhaustive of those I have done that to. How can I go on living like that with little to no remorse and not consider the damage I cause? What masks am I wearing? Am I that selfish to put myself in front of or above others? I guess this is an inward search and deep appraisal of the hidden, darker elements of myself. Find that wounded child, buried skeleton, or inner demon and drag it into the light for exposure to heal and grow, put to rest, or remove. I may need some help because if I could have done it by now, I probably would have. Maybe I denied it as it was too painful to face or expose. Maybe I have an entire tree in my eye. Either way, it is coming out and will be dealt with.
When your vision has been distorted for so long, it is like leaving the movie theater and walking out into the blinding light. It hurts your eyes at first, but you are no longer fumbling around in the dark. You squint, shield your eyes, and they water, but your vision slowly clears. Details and definitions of things are not shrouded in darkness anymore. You do not have to be like the actors on the screen who pretend to be something they are not. You can be true from the thoughts in your mind to the words that you speak and the choices you make. Maybe your partner has something in their eye, but maybe it does not bear mentioning until your vision clears. Then maybe you can help them to see. Then maybe neither of us will be a hypocrite in that regard. The world needs more true people and it would be great to be counted as one of them.