Listen to Hypocrites: the Gospels 

By | January 28, 2025

[January 28, 2025]  The brilliance of the Bible in its wisdom is beyond mind-blowing. Dennis Prager tells us of one of the most profound passages in the Book that gives us crucial advice that we should – counterintuitively – listen to hypocrites. Now, that is highly interesting.

“So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they preach.” — Matthew 23:3 (modern language)

Dennis provides us with an example supporting this passage. Those who dismissed the Founding Fathers of the United States because they had slaves did not listen to what they said because they had slaves. He says, listen to them; we are not asking you to have slaves.

One must have the mental skill to separate people from what they advocate. Everyone who advocates something good has to be essentially perfect; otherwise, we cannot learn from anyone. Dennis says that he cannot overstate the brilliance and relevance of that verse.

Dr. Jordan Peterson takes a different approach and tells the story of Ham’s attitude towards Noah. Noah ends up drunk and laid out in a tent after he shepherds his family through the storm, and Ham takes that opportunity to make fun of Noah and invite his brothers to join in on the humiliation.

His brothers refuse to do so. When Noah awakens from his drunken stupor – a shameful display – he tells Ham that his descendants will be the servants of slaves and that his other sons’ children will dominate them forever.

The idea being something like those who refuse to honor their mother and father will end up as slaves. This idea is akin to what Dennis noted when he said that we have no call to hold people to a standard that you can’t possibly make manifest yourself. There is nothing but hypocrisy in your willingness to throw out the best of the past because the past was also as corrupted as the present.

Today, with our social media and those willing to give up their privacy, we have a window into what everyone does. If we have no path or mechanism to forgive and there’s no way possible to forget – social media – then we are stuck in a Hellish loop because there’s no forgiveness and no forgetting.

This was part of a YouTube video that can be seen in full here.

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Please read my books:

  1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
  2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).
Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

16 thoughts on “Listen to Hypocrites: the Gospels 

  1. HAL

    If you read the Bible like I do, you may miss some messages that are difficult to decipher because the words are not common English. People like Gen. Satterfield are providing a great service to the common folks, like me, that need others more familiar with the Biblical teachings that can give us some of the meanings that provide more clear guideposts.

    Reply
  2. Mr. T.J. Asper

    Any time Gen. Satterfield discusses Dennis Prager and Jordan Peterson, I’m all ears.

    Reply
  3. JT Patterson

    “ The idea being something like those who refuse to honor their mother and father will end up as slaves. This idea is akin to what Dennis noted when he said that we have no call to hold people to a standard that you can’t possibly make manifest yourself. There is nothing but hypocrisy in your willingness to throw out the best of the past because the past was also as corrupted as the present.”— Gen. Doug Satterfield who really gets it. I too am amazed that the Bible is far more than I ever imagined even after I’d attended church services all my life.

    Reply
  4. KenFBrown

    Gen. Satterfield, I want to thank you for this article today because I had no idea that this was a passage in the Bible. Maybe it was the way it was worded. Oh, and thanks for giving us a commonsense translation using modern language. We need more of this. I would ask, if you are willing, to do more of these kinds of articles. Too many folks think that the Bible is just a bunch of old-fashioned gobbly goop and has little to no value. That is not true, of course, but we need someone like you to give us a better look at this age-old piece of advice. I know much of it is coming from Dr. Peterson and Prager. That’s okay. We’re open to them giving us great advice.

    Reply
    1. Grayson

      Well said, Ken. Thanks. I, too, would like to read more about this. I want to be a better person, and that means using my brain.

      Reply
  5. Winston

    You can never ignore the collection of all the world’s lessons wrapped up in the Bible.

    Reply
  6. Judy Judy Judy

    Never underestimate the valuable insights in the Word of God. Those who reject that Word will live a life of hate, bitterness, vindictiveness, and Hell. I pity those lost souls and I do pray 🙏 for them to return to the true God.

    Reply
    1. Lady Hawk

      Nailed it but those list can return but they must accept God and His son Jesus as their Savior.

      Reply
  7. Liz at Home

    Sir, it is wild that the Bible is so spot-on with so much about human nature and how we can conduct ourselves to make us the ver best we can be. Perhaps you could also write a book or even more articles on what we could learn from the Bible to add to our good life. I still recommend your book, “55 Rules for a Good Life” to all my friends. Thanks.
    https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
    Just click on the link to take you to Amazon and get your copy TODAY. Don’t wait.

    Reply
      1. Boy Sue

        I agree with you both and I too highly recommend Gen. Satterfield’s book. “55 rules for a good life.” You can’t get a better book that lays out some great lessons from a 40-year Army veteran.

        Reply
  8. Paulette

    A clear twist on what I would think. And, yes, Gen. Satterfield, much appreciate you bringing up, the genius of the Bible. 😁 I have four kids and my husband and I are trying to raise our kids right.

    Reply

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