Matthew 23:23-28

Matthew 23:23-28 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I've been in restaurants that look really nice on the outside but have terrible food.  I don't go back.
  I've driven cars that look fancy from the outside but don't drive well and feel cheap on the inside.  I wouldn't buy one.
  I've been around people who seem very nice but will actually do anything at all to get ahead -- I don't stay around them, if I can help it.
  Jesus warns the scribes and Pharisees -- don't be the type of people who dress up and act religious, but have no integrity and will lie, cheat and steal just to make an extra buck.  Don't act like you care for people but then turn around and trample over them if they become an obstacle.  Don't talk about your values and then fail to live up to them. 
  Far too often, outsiders find the church to be a place of hypocrisy, where people act nicely and look nice but have empty hearts and callous tongues.  This turns them off, for one bad experience might drive someone away from the church forever.  You don't have to be perfect -- everyone in the church has their own issues.  Just be honest.  Let's join together and confess that we're all struggling with something, and we all depend on the grace and love of Jesus Christ to get us through the day.  I've got problems, but I'll own them.  I'll even share them!  Don't pretend to be perfect.  Acknowledge that we are perfect only through the blood of Jesus Christ, and that we are working every day to let the Holy Spirit mend and shape us into the people God is calling us to be, but we'll never be perfect this side of heaven.