Integrity -- Don't Be a Hypocrite!

   When Jesus used the term “hypocrite” to describe the Pharisees, everyone knew what He was talking about.  A hypocrite was a theatrical term for a big mask carried by the actors in plays in the time of Jesus.  Theatrical plays were common so many people would attend these plays in amphitheaters which had no PA systems or stage lighting.  The actors and actresses would have to project their voices and when they wanted their audiences to see their emotions, they would use hypocrites to convey the message.

   Putting this in a spiritual understanding, Christians can put on masks to hide what is going on inside of us.  What is going on inside of us is not the message being conveyed by our facial expressions or words.  At this point we are not having integrity, what is on the inside is not consistent with the outside.  

   Integrity comes from the math term integer.  An integer is a whole number whether positive or negative.  The definition of integrity means wholeness or completeness; what we see on the outside is the same on the inside.  A building can be of good integrity if the outside is whole and the same for the infrastructure of building.  Engineers and architects use integrity to describe well-designed buildings, bridges, and towers that will not fall down because the spans of steel, layers of concrete, bolts and screws, glass and silicone work toget ...