“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (KJV Matthew 23:13-15)
As the verses above demonstrate, Jesus is not fond of hypocrites. This trend has continued to modern day vernacular. Many people find it easy to condemn hypocrites. But what exactly is a hypocrite, anyway?
A lot of definitions exist and a particular meaning may be peculiar to the situation. Here is one more to add to the repertoire.
One way to break down the word “hypocrite” is to divide it into two parts. The first “hypo”, and the second “crite”.
As a prefix, “hypo” can refer to something that is less than adequate. In contrast to hypo, the opposite prefix, “hyper”, can refer to something that is more than adequate.
As a medical condition, if someone has hypothyroidism, the thyroid is less than adequate at doing its job of producing thyroid hormone. In contrast, someone with hyperthyroidism has a thyroid that is overly active and is producing more hormone than it should. In the word “hypocrite”, the prefix “hypo” can refer to something that is less than adequate.
If the prefix, “hypo” refers to something that is less than adequate, what does “crite” refer to? A connection of “crite” can be made to being critical. To put the two parts together, a hypocrite can simply refer to someone who is less than adequately critical. To be more specific, it refers to being less than adequately self critical.
Equipped with this definition of a hypocrite may cause the word to be thrown around less frequently. Accusing someone of being less than adequately self critical implies that it is coming from someone who is adequately self critical.
When the standard of conduct is being like Jesus, am I adequately self critical? When something is wrong, do I correctly weigh how my own inadequacies may be contributing to the problem? Am I guilty of wanting to cast the mote out of another’s eye while I have a beam in my own?
Does the condemnation of Jesus toward the Pharisees and scribes apply to all hypocrites? If I am less than adequately self critical, does this condemnation apply to me?