Matthew 23:1-12. Part 2
You’ll Never Be As Good Of A Christian As I Am.
The scribes and Pharisees claimed to be righteous, They taught others to be righteous but they themselves did not practice what they preached. They acted as if they were perfect and no one would be as good as they were.
Vs 4: They were Burden Makers versus being a Burden Taker, like Jesus was.
Vs 5-7: Everything they did, everywhere they sat, every place they went, they wanted to be recognized and get all the Glory. They loved to be greeted and be called TEACHER.
Vs 8-9: Jesus rebuked those who loved to be called Teacher, Leader, or Father because they lost the fact that they are only able to be a leader or teacher or father figure because of the Gift giver who enables them to lead, teach, or be a father figure. I don’t think God is opposed to us being called a leader if we recognize where our leadership ability comes from. The Pharisees and scribes failed in this area because of their arrogance.
Knowing what our gifts are should actually humble us because we recognize that apart from God we can do nothing. We need his Holy Spirit to enable us to be effective with our gifts. Once our gifts bring us to a point of arrogance, then we exclude God as the Gift giver and we see ourselves as if we are God.
I’m hard on myself. I’m quicker to see my imperfections than my giftedness. So it feels good if somebody compliments me when God uses me. It helps me realize that God REALLY IS using me! It’s hard to bring myself to a place where I think I’m better than others, because I’m reminded of my imperfections.
PRAYER: God help me never to be blind of any arrogance in my life. Lord it’s good to know my imperfections because it helps keep me humble. But I pray that I don’t allow the devil to overwhelm me of my imperfections. I don’t want to WALLOW in my IMPERFECTIONS but rather BLOSSOM in my GOD-GIVEN GIFTS for Your Glory and not mine. Amen!
