Read Luke 20:45-47
I Love Getting Attention!
Sometimes I annoy my wife by certain actions that I do, for example, when she walks in front of the car, I honk the horn. Then she’ll look at me and say, “Looks like somebody wants a little attention.”
In today’s passage, Jesus warns his disciples to beware of the teachers of the law because they were all about wanting attention from others. Here are the examples Jesus gave:
1. “They like to walk around in flowing robes.” The way they dressed was all about “Look at me everybody!” How do we dress? Who are we trying to impress? Others or the Lord?
2. “They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.” There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be shown respect but it becomes a problem when jealousy kicks in when others are getting more attention than ourselves.
3. “They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets … And for a show, they make lengthy prayers.”
Don’t let what you do be done to make people look at you. Make it all about wanting to point people to Jesus.
Don’t let pride enter into your heart because you lose compassion for the needs of others, like the widows.
Jesus got a lot of attention but he got it for the right reason. He invested into the lives of others and people are drawn towards those who humbly love them and look past their failures and see their strengths and their abilities, and even their potentials.
Everything about the teachers of the law was for self. They lacked humility and lacked the heart of compassion for the hurting. When people talk about me, what do they say? What am I known for? What’s my reputation? Is it all about me and my glory or is it all about the Lord and His glory? Am I trying to point people to me or to Jesus?
