In our journey of faith, there is often a visible path we follow: Sunday services, dedicated times of fasting, and the study of scripture. These are powerful tools intended to draw us closer to the Divine. However, a quiet paradox often emerges within religious circles. Sometimes, those most committed to the external "forms" of religion - the ones in the front pews every week or those who fast most rigorously - can find themselves slipping into a posture of judgment and hypocrisy.
It is a delicate subject to approach, yet it is vital to explore if we wish to move from a religion of "shoulds" to a life of true Presence.
The Trap of the Egoic Self
The challenge arises when religious practice becomes a source of egoic pride rather than a means of surrender. When the focus of a church shifts toward scaring people or creating a sense of moral superiority, it inadvertently strengthens the "judging mind." Instead of fostering a deep, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, the emphasis becomes about feeling "better than" or "safer than" those on the outside.
Jesus spoke directly to this tendency when addressing the religious leaders of his time. In Matthew 23:25-26, he warned: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence... First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
Real transformation doesn't happen through external performance; it happens through the internal realization of who we are in Christ.
The Formless Being and the Holy Spirit
At the heart of the teachings of Jesus is an invitation to realize our true identity - not as a collection of labels, sins, or religious achievements, but as a "formless being" that is an extension of God’s own Spirit.
In the stillness of the Holy Spirit, we find a part of ourselves that is untouched by the noise of judgmental thoughts. This is what Eckhart Tolle refers to as "Presence" or the "Witnessing Presence." In a Christian context, this is the "Inner Man" that the Apostle Paul speaks of.
When we are lost in our thoughts, we judge. We categorize people as "good" or "bad," "saved" or "lost." But when we drop into the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we recognize that we are all extensions of the same divine life. As 2 Corinthians 4:18 reminds us: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
That "unseen" part of you is the formless being. It is the part of you that does not judge because it recognizes itself in the "other."
Detaching from the Judging Mind
To live without hypocrisy is to realize that you are not your thoughts. A judgmental thought may arise - it is a conditioned response of the ego - but you do not have to claim it. You can observe the thought, realize it is not the truth of the Holy Spirit, and let it pass.
The spirit of Jesus is one of inclusion and recognition. When he said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3), he was calling us to shift our attention away from the "form" (the other person's behavior) and back to our own "state of being."
A Return to Love
The goal of our faith should not be to make us feel morally superior, but to make us more present, more loving, and more aware of the divine spark in every human being.
When we stop focusing on scaring people into pews and start helping them realize their true nature as children of God, the need for judgment falls away. We no longer see others as threats or projects to be fixed; we see them as fellow extensions of the Spirit, navigating their way back to the same Light.
Let us strive to be Christians who don't just "go to church," but who are the Church - a living, breathing expression of the formless, non-judgmental love of Christ.