To Please God or Man That is the Question-Matthew 6:1-7, 16-18

A number of years ago a university was accused of plagiarism. What made it so unusual was that the school had plagiarized the section on plagiarism from another university's handbook. A news report stated, "A graduate student of one school, who was considering a teaching assistant's job at the other, was reading the school handbook when he noted that the section warning students against plagiarism was identical to the caution in the handbook of the other university." Another student said, "The thing that bothered me most was the hypocrisy." In Romans 2 the apostle Paul exposed the hypocrisy of self-righteous religionists. He said, "You who preach that man should not steal, do you steal?" (v21). Paul warned that people who are quick to judge the sins of others are guilty of the very things they condemn. We can probably all think of tendencies toward inconsistencies. We see sin in another person's life and we rise up in pride to correct that person. But if we are honest with each other (and ourselves), we can see similar faults in our own lives. Be careful to examine yourself before pointing out the faults of others. As they say, practice what you preach! God is pleased when our walk matches our talk. In Sunday's exposition, Jesus addresses religious hypocrisy. Join us for "To Please God or Man--That is the Question" (Matt 6:1-7).