“In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

Matthew 23:28 CSB

There was a video that went viral a little while back, where a youth group was interviewing their students, asking the student what the verse in their social media bio said…and not one student actually knew what the verse said. I saw a lot of responses and a whole lot of judgement, and at first I will admit I too had the thought of, “are they for real,” but I stopped myself because I too have been in that place. Where I looked good and like I had this deep relationship with God, but I really was just coasting in my faith or didn’t make it my own.

I mean, think back to high school, you’re really a product of your environment, and the church world is a very easy environment to look good without needing it to be real. Now, the majority of you reading this have been out of high school for many years, which would let us believe that we would never do something like what these students do, but we know that’s not really true.

I mean, who hasn’t shared a picture of their coffee and Bible…that might not have been opened at all, but the optics look great! The verse in the bio, the shot of your hands high in worship, your prayer before a meal in public, all of it looks great; but at the end of the day, the evidence matters more over the optics of your faith.

My pastor this past Sunday, continued through the miracles of Jesus in the book of John, and yet again we see that the Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus in breaking a law not set by God and they miss the miracle He performs right in front of them. There are a lot of moments of this in Scripture, and what is so frustrating is that these people were supposed to be the leaders and embrace the savior, but they couldn’t stand the man who didn’t fit the image of who they wanted.

Jesus compares them to “white-washed tombs,” something that on the outside looks very beautiful, but at the end of the day, holds a decaying body. They had the optics of someone that did all the right things, said what needed to be said, and condemn all those who didn’t stand up to the standards. The truth is, the evidence in their heart was full of “hypocrisy and wickedness.” We can easily read their story and scoff saying, “good things I’m not like that,” but really, we are like that. That is the default, but…

Jesus calls us not to live by default, but by the Spirit alive and active in us.

Jesus says that we will, “be known by our fruit (Matthew 7:16),” much like a tree. To be known by our fruit is evidence. Evidence being what the people in our lives see within us and is a testimony to a loving God. I write and talk about this idea constantly, and yet it needs to be re-said over and over, but if you are a mean person who shows no love to the people around you, you’re not being a witness to the goodness of God in your life. Jesus tells us that we are known as His disciples by how we love (John 13:35), not by how you point out that people aren’t following Jesus and are awful people.

Your love should be the evidence over the optics of your words.

I’ve been following Jesus the majority of my life now, worked in and out of churches, and I’ve seen this before. I was even guilty of it early on in my ministry journey too, but it is very easy to be loud with your words, talking about how good you are at being a Jesus person, but at the end of the day, your biggest testimony will be how you treat others. I’m talking mostly to Christians, especially those in ministry, your words will mean nothing if you gossip and bully behind closed doors.

I had a conversation not too long ago about my frustrations with church culture, and that in the non-church world, you’re not always surprised by people being cruel, but it should be surprising in the church world when a leader is cruel, because one is representing a false view of Christ. Believer, hold yourself to a standard of a loving Jesus and not begin to obsess over the optics.

The faith no one sees is the evidence over the optics of being a good follower.

As human beings, we want others to see us, to be seen as good and excellent. When it comes to your faith, you’re not to impress others, but to be connected to Christ unseen. Dear Danielle and I lead a small group a few years back, where one of the members of this group interrupted the conversation, to point out “just how beautiful the Lord’s prayer is and we should just meditate on it for a few moments.” Now, yes, the Lord’s prayer is a beautiful example for us, but really this guy was trying to make sure the girl he liked saw how much of a believer he was. He was young, and after the cringe, we all were able to move forward fairly quickly, but I have seen moments like this time and time again. It looks as if you really are in-tune with God, but if you are that in synch, it wouldn’t matter what the people around you saw of you.

You don’t need to be validated by people, you need to be walking with Christ.

I’ve seen ministry leaders say, “the things we’re doing aren’t that deep and we need more deeper teaching,” which all that means is that you want us to know that you are superior and the faith of others is inferior. The goal is the Gospel, and if being saved by grace and made new to be a light to everyone around you, isn’t deep enough, I think you’re missing the point. Trust me, I’ve done the schooling for the “deep” theology stuff and it mostly leads to discussion with no resolution, distracting from the call of the great commission.

Follow and live for Jesus and your life will be the only evidence you will need to lead others to freedom.

I don’t want you to feel judged by me today, I too, have the fact that I follow Jesus in my bio. What I want to do through my words today, is encourage you to be okay with following Jesus intentionally without the need to be seen and heard.

By following Jesus and living out His teachings, your actions and words will naturally show others the love of Christ alive and at work within you.

That’s what matters.

You don’t need approval from others that you follow Jesus, just simply follow Jesus and do as He did.

That’s what will make you the biggest witness for our loving and kind Savior.

• Your pastor and friend, Joshua.

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About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a husband, father, and pastor doing what he can to love others the way Jesus did. You can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. He may not have it all figured out, but the journey is the best part. You can find him on the only social media he uses, Bluesky and Instagram