Hypocrisy

     Anyone in my family or that knows me well knows the story of how I learned a big word when I was young, "Hypocrite", that has been a big influence on me. There is something very annoying about a hypocrite. It is recorded in the scriptures that Jesus was quite critical of hypocrites. We have lots of sayings in one form or another about hypocrisy:
Don't worry about the mote in your brother's eye when you have a beam in your own. (scriptural)
What goes around, comes around,
The pot shouldn't call the kettle black.
If you have made the bed you need to be willing to lie in it.
Treat others as you would have them treat you. (also scriptural)
     I have tried hard to analyze my opinions and practices to avoid hypocrisy. If I felt entertainment sources were not appropriate for my children, I would not watch them. The same for behaviors such as drinking or smoking. (The exceptions, of course, being driving and physical sex since children will some day do those things but aren't mature enough to do them wisely.) I am troubled by parents who punish their children for a behavior they have learned from observation in their home. You can't justly scold a child for not taking care of his/her things if a parent doesn't. It's not fair to yell or swear then punish your child for doing the same thing. Children learn by observation. They become brutally clear mirror images of their parents. If a parent "gets caught" by recognizing their own behavior in their chastised child, they should "fess up"! Let your child know you recognize that eating a cookie just before dinner is not right and you will hold yourself to the same standard as you hold your child.
     Other terms for such a characteristic are: being without guile, having integrity, being sincere, and not talking out of both sides of your mouth. It's not that I suggest not being aware of evil. I just don't want to take part in it. I have plenty of weaknesses and faults, I freely admit it. I may even appear "self-righteous" to some. I don't mean to be. I only want to make sure that I understand whatever I have embraced as a policy or principle is true across the board- for me or anyone else. If I don't want to be criticized for my appearance in some way I should not criticize others. I don't want to say anything behind a person's back that I wouldn't want them to hear me say. I don't want to expect any more from a child than I do from myself. What's fair should be fair for everyone.