Hypocrite makes a good verb

“Sometimes a hypocrite is nothing more than a man in the process of changing.” _Brandon Sanderson

I’m not sure if hypocriting is a valid word, but I am sure it is necessary.

Take for example when I showed up at my first church to be a pastor.  The truth was I was not a pastor—how could I be, I had never pastored.  I had no experience at being a pastor…zero, zilch, nada. 

But…

I knew pastors…many of them who were really good at it and I started acting like them.

In the beginning I was little more than a hypocrite – a sincere hypocrite that meant well, but a hypocrite nevertheless. The real thing? Being a real pastor…that didn’t happen just because my Bishop signed a piece of paper that said I was a pastor. All the piece of paper did was give me the title “pastor” and the opportunity to figure out how to actually become a pastor.

And little by little, as I figured things out, got a few wins and a lot of…let’s call them “teachable moments”…under my belt I became less of a hypocrite and more of the real thing.

The truth is, I am still figuring things out. But I’ve gotten better and hope to keep getting better. And I know this, it would have never happened if I hadn’t been willing to do a little hypocriting along the way.

The ONE THING for today: You will never try anything new and adventurous or improve and better yourself if you’re not willing to act like you’re something that you’re not but want to be.  It’s called stepping into the unknown and learning as you go.