Romans 12:9–13 (NASB)

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

I like the NASB translation here because it leaves the Greek word hypocrisy intact, instead of translating the first sentence more loosely with something like, “Let love be genuine.” The Greek word hypocrite literally means a stage actor (someone who wears a mask). Paul is saying that if you’re going to care about someone, lose the mask.

This passage is all about throwing ourselves wholeheartedly into Christianity. Every sentence is a superlative command. Don’t just avoid evil and do good. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Don’t just help one another. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Don’t just honor one another, give preference to one another in honor.

This is strong stuff that we really need to pay attention to. Many modern Christians have a big seriousness problem. The classic example of this is C & E Christians—people who only go to church on Christmas and Easter. And, make no mistake, they think of themselves as practicing Christians. They may say something like, “I really should go to church more often,” but they’re not serious.

So, if the power of self-delusion is so strong, how do we know that we’re all that different from C & E Christians? Are we doing what Paul commands in this passage? Are we even coming close? How do we compare to the first century Christians that Paul wrote this to?

We don’t know how well we measure up, but don’t forget that Paul wrote this to those first century Christians. That means they needed to hear it. They weren’t perfect either.

Paul’s challenging them to up their game just as he’s challenging us.

But that doesn’t mean we only need to up our game a little bit. Every one of us desperately needs to get serious—fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. OK, but how?

Much of that last section is specific to the first century. Back then, the needs of the saints were severe, and they often needed lodging. That’s what practicing hospitality is about. Also, we don’t suffer serious persecution here, so our need for persevering in tribulation is limited.

But the rest of that passage gives the keys to spiritual growth—fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, devoted to prayer. That’s more about attitude and focus than about actions. Being devoted to prayer doesn’t mean praying all the time; it means your heart’s in it.

That means losing the mask.

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