Why did Angus T. Jones refer to himself as a paid hypocrite? (VIDEO)

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<iframe style=”float: left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #C0C0C0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/kf_k8ZTcKMo?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}Angus T. Jones used to play the role of Jake Harper on the CBS comedy, Two and a Half Men.  He left the show last year after he was quoted as saying that “the show was filth” and asking people to please stop watching it.  He called himself a “paid hypocrite” because he was playing a role that didn’t fit with his Christian beliefs.

Angus T. Jones is a college student in Colorado now and has put acting on the back burner to focus on his faith.  He has said that he will consider a television or movie role if he is able to align that role with his religious convictions.

The apostle Paul told the Church in Thessalonica that, “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:7).  It will become increasingly difficult in the future for Christians to blend with the American culture.  There is less and less on the television that Christians should watch.  The magazines, newspapers and the Internet all seem to be pushing the margins of morality.

The standards for acceptable behavior have changed so much in my lifetime.  I wonder, did my Grandma think the same thing?  Occasionally I give in to the worry and concern – but then realize that is exactly what Satan would like for me to do.

Angus T. Jones is right in calling himself a “paid hypocrite.”  In some ways, most, if not all of us, could probably say the same thing.  What is important is that he is using his voice and his past to call people’s attention to the truth about God.  God doesn’t approve of sin, God doesn’t bless sin and God will not allow us to continue in sin.  Aren’t you glad?

I wonder when Jones knew he had reached the place where he just couldn’t continue to make a show that was popular, considered funny and allowed him to amass a small fortune by the age of twenty.  The world applauded his work, but God did not.  Angus T. Jones chose God’s applause.

His story is good food for thought.  Is there something each of us holds onto, just because it makes us funny, popular or financially better off, but is beneath God’s standards for his children?  

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church, embedded in a culture known for its decadence, and said, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).   The “promises” that Paul was referring to can be found in chapter six.  Paul spoke of salvation, righteousness, harmony with God and others, and the fact that we are considered God’s sons and daughters.

God has promised us the best of everything and when God makes a promise it is an absolute certainty.  Are we keeping our promises to him?  We asked him to be our Lord, are we still placing him on the throne of our lives?

The greatest joy in life is the knowledge that eternity is ahead of us, filled with God’s perfect blessing.  This Lenten season is a great time to reflect on all that God gave to provide us that promise.  As the old hymn says, “Our sins were washed away, our night was turned to day.”  Our debt has been paid in full.  

So the question for today is this: Are we living as “paid-hypocrites?”  What would he call us to do, so that once again, we choose him as Lord of our lives?  Would you renew your promise with the Lord today and live truthfully as his child?

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