Advent-ure 2020 December 9: LIGHT OF THE WORLD (Do As I Do)

We are called to be shining examples of the light of Christ in us. Paul was confident of that holy presence that he wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.

In the book of Ephesians, chapter 5, he stated: "...be imitators of God as dear children."  We have been given an example to follow, and Jesus demonstrated that Godly example for us.  We are called by Scripture to walk in the manner which he walked, and we are given the ability by the Holy Spirit to do that. Because we are new creations in Christ, we are expected to behave in a way that is consistent with that spiritual reality, allowing Christ's light to shine through us.

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Some of the most direct, harsh words that Jesus spoke during His earthly ministry were to the hypocrites, namely, religious leaders who made a pretense of being holy and righteous, yet were oppressive toward the people they were appointed to serve. It's a warning to all of us to make sure that we are not claiming the name of Christ but denying Him by our actions.  Arrogance has not place in the Kingdom of God.

We continue with our 25-day Christmas Advent-ure by highlighting another name that Jesus used to describe Himself - Light of the World.  He referred to Himself in that manner in John 8 and in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5, He says we are the light of the world.  So, that means we are responsible to shine His light through us.

Hypocrisy will dim the light that we as believers are called to shine. In John chapter 8, we find that Jesus had confronted the religious leaders for wanting to stone a sinful woman. He stated in verse 7, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." He wrote on the ground, and they all left. Verse 9 says they were "convicted by their conscience." Later in the chapter, we read these words:
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."
14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.

An article at The Federalist pointed out that its Senior Editor, Mollie Hemingway, called out political leaders who have been "hypocritically violating their own COVID-19 health and safety guidelines." She called these actions “dangerous” and “tyrannical.” The author of the article, Jordan Davidson, said that "elected officials have threatened fines and arrests to anyone dares reject their tyrannical orders closing churches and schools in the name of public health over a virus with a 99.98 percent survival rate." Davidson writes:

The growing list of leaders who have frolicked at dinners, hair appointments, and traveled on vacations while urging Americans to stay at home includes: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Hemingway says, "...it’s unclear if they just think that the rules don’t apply to them but only the little people, or whether they don’t think the rules actually matter at all in terms of public health.”

The Editorial Board of the New York Post wrote:

As the nation tires of quarantines, boredom and loneliness, the same politicians who find glee in slapping wrists and dooming small businesses regularly break the rules, in letter and in spirit, when they want to.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining maskless and indoors with lobbyists at the tony French Laundry restaurant the same week he warned against Thanksgiving gatherings. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot having her hair done and joining in a riotous Joe Biden victory celebration in violation of her own restrictions — then having the gall to call her actions “essential ­activities.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unmasked at a hair salon that wasn’t even supposed to be open, even as she decried President Trump’s reluctance to wear a mask — then claiming she’d been entrapped.

It went on to call out "Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler recording a video telling people to stay home — filming it in a timeshare in Cabo, having flown to Mexico on a private jet." Adler did apologize, with ABCNews.com reporting that he said, "I recognize that my travel set a bad example...I know that in my position, I need to send a clearer message."

The Post also reported on Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.  The ABC News website stated that:

The day before Thanksgiving, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock urged his constituents to remain in their households and refrain from travel during the holiday if they could.

That same day, he boarded a plane to join his wife and daughter in Mississippi.

He likewise apologized, saying, "I apologize to the residents of Denver who see my decision as conflicting with the guidance to stay at home for all but essential travel..."

"Proud posers" is what the Post called these and others who did what they told others not to do. The article says that "Hypocrisy is by no means limited to the left side of the spectrum; you can even argue that violations in secret (until they got caught) are just simple human failing." But it takes to task the leaders who "flaunted their rule-breaking in public," and then tried to make up a reason to justify it. It says:

And that sanctimony, we’d argue, is a peculiarly progressive vice: These politicians are certain they not only know better than the little people, but that they have a moral right to dictate detailed choices to struggling business owners, desperate single moms and everyone else facing dire dilemmas as they balance safety and keeping life ­together."

Wow - there is so much here related to hypocrisy - Jesus called it out emphatically, and we have to make sure we are allowing the Holy Spirit to eradicate it from our lives. We can ask the Holy Spirit to shine the light in our hearts so that we do not walk in hypocrisy.  And, we have to make sure that our hearts are transformed so that we have a desire to glorify God in our actions.

We can be reminded not to justify hypocritical behavior; we should repent and trust the Lord to help us do better.  We have to avoid the trap of the "double life."  We cannot act one way in public and another way in secret - integrity dictates that our outward expressions line up with our redeemed heart, demonstrating who we are in Christ. We can make integrity our goal.

We are called to be Christ's examples; therefore we are to model godly behavior - we don't hold high expectations for others and tell people, "do as I say, not as I do." Instead, as Paul said, we should be devoted to send the message to "do as I do."  Our lives, energized by Christ, should demonstrate a sense of His presence.