Good Morning Friends,
Jesus said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices -- mint, dill and
cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law -- justice,
mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without
neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a
camel. 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.
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the
outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside
but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 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 23:23-28)
It’s easy to get caught up in external things
and ignore internal things. The Pharisees did that. They got caught up in
visible law-keeping: tithing, public praying, religious meetings, and other
“religious duties.” They ignored things of the heart: justice, mercy, honesty. Jesus
compared them to people who worry over the smallest defilement, but give in to
major problems: straining the gnat while eating the camel!
Jesus knew that what is inside is far more important
than what is outside. The thrust of the Gospel is that we must take care of the
matters of the heart. The truth is that if we take care of the matters of the
heart they will work their way into every aspect of the way we live.
How often are you in church? How do you
worship? What is your giving record? In what way were you baptized? The answers
to those questions are absolutely meaningless, unless those things come out of
your heart. Take care of your heart first so that in the end you don’t hear the
same horrible rebuke that the Pharisees received: pretty on the outside, but
rotten on the inside!
His, by Grace, Steve
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