Unfortunately, the duck test is not completely accurate. As you well know, hypocrisy runs rampant in our society. We see it in the spin of the news media; we see it in the faux promises of politicians; we see it in job-seekers embellishing their resumes—I’ll stop here because giving you a comprehensive list of examples would take too long. For the sake of brevity, I’ll simply give you the definition of hypocrisy, (please forgive me for insulting your intelligence).
From the internet
web-site http://www.dictionary.com, hypocrisy is defined as a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or
religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess; or a pretense of
having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.
No surprises there and it is also no surprise that Jesus
preached against hypocrisy during His ministry on earth; the Pharisees being
particular targets. Just one example of this is found in Matthew 23:17, HCSB,
where Jesus says, “Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but
inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity.”
People
appearing to be what they are not.
The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is
another example of people appearing to be what they are not. The five wise
virgins not only looked the part, they were also prepared. The foolish virgins also
looked the part; in fact, they looked exactly like the wise virgins; however,
when it came time to meet the groom they were not only unprepared, but it was also
discovered they were not even known by the groom—they were imposters!
In Mark
11:12-14, Jesus cursed the barren fig tree for not providing what its appearance
promised—fruit. Since the tree was already full of leaves, Jesus went to see,
“if perhaps He would find something on it”, (Mark 11:13). Finding no fruit, He
cursed the tree.
Jesus says we are recognized by our fruit. In John 15:5-8, He
tells us if we remain in Him and Him in us, we will produce “much” fruit and
that the Father is glorified by this. Furthermore, by this we are proved to be
His disciples…not imposters, but true Disciples of Christ!
As Christians we should
daily invite the Lord to examine our hearts and motives to see if there is any
offensive way within us, (Psalm 139:23-24). For you can be sure others are
watching us to see if we are truly what we appear to be; if we are truly what
we profess to be. In other words, if you say you are a duck; then be a duck and
don’t get caught acting like a goose! After all, we are ambassadors of Christ, 2
Corinthians 5:20.
“Make Your ways known to me, LORD; teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation”.
Psalm 25:4-5, HCSB
Precious Lord,
You see our hearts, You know our
motives; give us clean hands and a pure heart to know and walk in Your ways, to
obey You—quickly, sweetly, and completely; to worship and glorify You, and to
serve You always; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God bless!
