Hypocrisy: Sometimes it’s as Simple as Taking Candy from a Baby

My church does several community outreaches throughout the year. Most of them involve candy in some shape or form. We participate in a community parade during the summer where we hand candy out to the people attending. We do a harvest festival carnival in the fall on Halloween where we give candy out at all of the games. And in the spring we recently started participating in a community Easter Egg Hunt with candy filled plastic Easter Eggs.

When the church is preparing for these events they place containers around the church and ask for the congregation to donate bags of candy. When we started these outreaches several years ago participation was high, although lately it seems to have dwindled. Usually the church has to purchase extra candy because the donations aren’t sufficient for the outreach event.

I know there are lots of reasons that people don’t donate candy. Usually they just don’t think about it while they are at the store where they should buy the candy because it’s easy to not remember. But I happened to have a conversation with someone about a week ago that got me to thinking…

I reminded a church member whom I have known for many years to bring candy for the upcoming Easter Egg hunt, and they responded back their refusal to participate because “Candy is bad for kids”. I’ve had similar conversations with people in the past who told me the reason they didn’t bring candy is because if they purchased candy they would “Eat all of it before they even got home from the store”. I’ve also heard parents say that they take away most of the candy their kids get from our events, and dispose of it instead of letting their kids keep it.

I know that all of these people are good people, but I am saddened to see how self-righteous and hypocritical we have become without even realizing it. I know it’s an old idiom to bring up the question, “What would Jesus do?” But seriously, what would Jesus do?

Matthew 7:9-11 - “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (NIV)

Matthew 19:14 - Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (NIV)

Matthew 18:3-5 - And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (NIV)

When God tells us to give candy to a child we need to do it. Refusing because we think that “Candy is bad for kids”, or because we don’t have enough self-control to save the bag for the church bin instead of eating it ourselves is wrong, and it is sin. Failing to purchase because we don’t give God’s request high enough importance to remember it is also wrong.

Have we forgotten our commission from Jesus Christ Himself?

Matthew 28:18-20 - Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)

The Kingdom of God isn’t about candy (Romans 14:17), but it is about people. How many children and families might find their way into the Kingdom because of a simple piece of candy inside an Easter Egg, or handed out at a parade or carnival?

Matthew 10:42 - “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (NIV)

James :)