In the early hours of TET (the Vietnamese Lunar New Year), Buddhist pagodas, overflowing with whispered prayers and incense smoke, are the scene of pious treachery. The pagan congregant, convinced that the gods will be more inclined to listen if prayers are offered with incense, seeks to gather as many (and as large) sticks of incense as possible. Convinced that good luck will be granted to those who give the gods a generous offering of fruit and new-growth leaves, these symbols of fruitfulness and continuing growth are laid before prayer altars by the armful.<\/p>\n
Incense, fruit, fresh leaves – “sacrifices,” these are called. Yet, while one worshipper bows with closed eyes to utter his requests for blessings in the year ahead, his fellow quietly carries away the first’s burning incense to use in offering his own prayers. Similarly, another worshipper, anxious for a year filled with good luck, happily lays an impressive collection of leaves and fruit upon the prayer altar, seemingly unconcerned that he has just plucked these “sacrifices” from others’ trees (perhaps even from the landscape of the pagoda). ,Throughout the day and night, these pious pretensions and treacherous deeds occur again and again.<\/p>\n
But is pious treachery confined to paganism? Let us see.<\/p>\n
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought the thirty pieces of silver again to the chief priests and elders,… And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood<\/em>” (Matthew 27:3-6). Hmm, the very Jewish rulers, who just days before had paid this bribe money to Judas for his betrayal of the innocent Jesus (Matthew 26:15), were now concerned about what was “lawful.” They had not been above paying out blood money (likely from the temple treasury), but discussed what was “lawful” when it was returned to them. How is that for pious treachery?<\/p>\n But again, “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath day,… besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away<\/em>” (John 19:31). Here we go again! The very ones who hours before had won the release of a murderous thief and instigated the death of the innocent Son of God as they hatefully cried, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him,” now feel that they are too pious to allow the bodies of those crucified to remain on the cross to defile the Sabbath. Tell me now ~ is it only paganism that mixes piety and treachery in religion? Obviously not!<\/p>\n I am afraid it has plenty to do with us. We only kid ourselves if we imagine that somehow we are incapable of possessing other people’s bent for blindly mixing piety and treachery in religion. The poison of pretended piety, accompanied by treacherous deeds, has affected the religion of every culture and age. As surely as Buddhists can mistakenly believe that the treachery of theft can be justified by the religiosity that accompanies it, and as surely as the Jews could treacherously orchestrate Christ’s death (by hiring a betrayer and false witnesses, etc.) while feeling too pious to put blood-money in the temple treasury or to allow Jesus’ body to remain on the cross on a Sabbath, even so we can be guilty of thinking that the observance of certain religious traditions and worship ordinances overshadows and outweighs all else we may do, even some forms of treachery against our brethren. In particular, I have in mind some of the hurtful and harmful things that I have known brethren to say and about one another in public settings.<\/p>\n Does the fact that a brother or sister can be found at the building “every time the doors are open,” or agrees with all the judgments typically associated with “Church of Christ” people, or always dresses for worship in what Americans have traditionally considered “church clothes,” or has never (or at least not recently) had a problem with substance abuse, money management, or certain forms of immorality, make it right for him or her to disregard those passages of scripture that tell us how to deal with and treat our brethren? In view of the following passages from the book of James, the above question should not be dismissed lightly (please open your Bibles and read them now: James 1:26; 2:8-10; 3:9-10; 3:17-18; 4:11-12; 5:19-20).<\/p>\n I recall an occasion when a young Christian, a teenager who had only recently been converted, was loudly rebuked after a Wednesday evening Bible study. Others had noted that she had worn slacks that night and had planned to talk with her privately about why they chose not to dress so casually when the church assembled, but one brother could not wait. Immediately after the dismissal prayer, this brother marched to where she stood beside her pew and proceeded to tell her (with a tone more appropriate for a slave master than for a shepherd, which he was supposed to be) that just as his clothes showed his interest in the cause of Christ, similarly her clothes showed her disinterest. The young Christian, standing before three high school friends she had brought to Bible study that night and with whom she had been studying privately, immediately blushed with embarrassment and rushed from the building before breaking into tears. To no one’s surprise, the church never saw her friends again, nor did the young Christian bring other visitors. When a few months later I heard that she was no longer assembling with the saints, Christ’s words came to mind:<\/p>\n “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea<\/em>” (Matthew 18:6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Other examples abound – occasions when brethren, from babes in Christ to elderly saints, have been treacherously railed against in business meetings, Bible classes, religious journals, and gossip circuits. Sometimes the reason was a purely personal matter (see Matthew 18:15). I do not mean to imply that those assaulted were always (or ever) faultless, but even if they were gravely amiss in something they had believed, said, or done, the scriptures still condemn the treachery of the unbridled tongues (pens) that carelessly attacked them.<\/p>\n Please note, therefore, that whether among Asian pagans, ancient Jews, or twentieth-century American Christians, it has not been unusual for the supposedly pious to be guilty of religious treachery. It is time for all of us to take a close look at ourselves. God cares about how we treat one another.<\/p>\n Our treatment of our brethren tells on each of us. While pious words and acts may make us feel religious, they only serve to confirm and increase our guilt when our treatment of others shows our piety to be a pretense and our hearts to be wellsprings of treachery.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Allen Malone via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 4, December 1994 In the early hours of TET (the Vietnamese Lunar New Year), Buddhist pagodas, overflowing with whispered prayers and incense smoke, are the scene of pious treachery. The pagan congregant, convinced that the gods will be more inclined to listen if prayers are offered with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1215,1839],"class_list":["post-95091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-courtesy","tag-hypocrisy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49723,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/treacherous-dealing\/","url_meta":{"origin":95091,"position":0},"title":"Treacherous Dealing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Alan Feaster","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58357,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/no-sense-in-pretense\/","url_meta":{"origin":95091,"position":1},"title":"No Sense in Pretense","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown via\u00a0Of America, Volume 1 (copyright 1999 Pensacola Christian College), page 224 You tell what you are by the friends you seek, By the manner in which you speak. By the way you employ your leisure time, By the use you make of dollar and dime. You tell what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93832,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pretense\/","url_meta":{"origin":95091,"position":2},"title":"Pretense","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores In Genesis 27, Jacob approaches Isaac, pretending to be Esau, and Isaac says, \"The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's.\" It's such a striking line because it captures the tension of a divided identity: one thing on the outside, another on the inside. Jacob is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23759,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-put-a-yearning-in-our-hearts-for-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":95091,"position":3},"title":"Does God put a yearning in our hearts for Him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does God place a yearning for him in our hearts so that we seek Him?\u00a0\u00a0Is this yearning\u00a0misunderstood by us and we start trying to fill this void with worldly things?\u00a0 Why is\u00a0it that some people know early in life what that yearning is, and seek Him right away while\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14130,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-divorce-all-of-israel-or-only-the-northern-tribes\/","url_meta":{"origin":95091,"position":4},"title":"Did God divorce all of Israel or only the northern tribes?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Jeremiah 3:8, who did God divorce? Was it the House of Israel (ten northern tribes) only or all twelve tribes? Thank you. Answer: \"Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, \"Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37952,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-been-living-with-a-man-for-years-but-now-that-he-is-offering-to-marry-me-im-not-certain-if-he-is-the-right-man-for-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":95091,"position":5},"title":"I’ve been living with a man for years, but now that he is offering to marry me, I’m not certain if he is the right man for me","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am in a relationship for some years now and during this period I have gotten kids with this man. I have been frustrated in different ways by him. Now he is saying he will do the right thing by paying my bride price. Sir, I am so scared.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95091"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95094,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95091\/revisions\/95094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}“But That Was First-Century Judaism! What Does That Have to Do With Us?”<\/h2>\n