There was a period in my life when I despised going to church. It happened just as I entered high school and I learned what hypocrisy really was. I saw how these kids in youth group with me would act all righteous and Jesus-loving on Sundays at church, and then I would see how they acted when we were at school. I remember one guy that particularly had an influence on my feelings. He and I had gone to church together since we were really little. I ended up attending the same school he did for middle school and high school. I remember he used to just say really stupid and insulting comments to me. I never retaliated, I just couldn't believe that someone that would call Christ their savior would treat anyone, let alone another Christian, this way. Not to mention his parents ran the youth group.

So around that point, I strayed from church. I continued to study the Bible on my own time, read books, and prayed all the time. I decided I didn't need church to be a Christian. I built a sphere of pride around myself. I began to believe I was better than most Christians because I lived what I learned and practiced what I preached. I even got to a point where I thought about no longer considering myself a "Christian," but a follower of Christ because I didn't want to be associated with the hypocrites.

The only problem was that I, too, am a hypocrite. We all are.

Of course we all preach to live the way Christ would have us. Ultimately, that's what all Christians should and do want. But by nature, we cannot attain that. We aren't Christ. So we are all, as a result, hypocrites.

There are, of course, some that are more hypocritical than others. But sin is sin. And we can't focus all our energy on pointing out the hypocrisy of our brothers and sisters until we have faced the hypocrisy of our own.

I allowed my pride to build me up into a pious and judgmental pharisee. I was so blinded by my own pride that I pointed my finger at all the other followers of Christ without pointing it right back at me.

If you're a follower of Christ and you somehow think you are better than the rest of us, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're not. You are sinful by nature just as we are. You write checks you can't cash and you make accusations of others that you should be making of yourself. And if you're a hypocrite in need of recovery, find a church. You'll be in good company.