“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"
Pyongyang, Metro, North-Korea. Image by https://unsplash.com/@thoeva
Korean society have this word, Kijŏng-dong (기정동). literally meaning Peace Village. Such villages are set up in demilitarised zones to exhibit the success and superiority of Korean society. There you will find immaculately clean streets. Roads with a minimum of traffic. Inhabitants with tired and unhappy faces reflecting the true nature of the society. It’s all a Potemkin village; a great dramaturgical fraud to full the outside world.
I am a non-denominational Christian for reasons that can be analogous to the North Korean Peace Village scenario. Many religious groups and cults can put on a show that promises love, but sometimes, when you look inside, there is no freedom of thought. Oppressive leaders in sheep’s clothing that lack human compassion. There's rulemaking that has no bearing on biblical commands. And, the covering over of heinous crimes like child abuse less the brand be tarnished in the public eye.
In Jesus’ day, Jesus had no interest in the brand. He confronted hypocrisy in the religious system of the day. He said in Matthew 23:37 the following,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (WEB).
Writing: © 2024 Jim McCrory