Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." (Romans 2:17-24 NIV)
Hypocrisy doesn't only affect the way that people view us, it affects how others see God. When we behave in a way that is contrary to what we claim to believe (and condemn others for doing the same thing), it turns God into a joke, people don't want to follow Him because they think they will turn into hypocrites too. If we want those in the world to become members of the body of Christ, we have to show them that it turns us into people filled with love and compassion and not self righteousness.
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