Matthew 23:1-12
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
23 Then Jesus said to the
crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and
the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell
you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads
and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a
finger to move them.
5 “Everything they do is
done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the
tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most
important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to
have men call them ‘Rabbi.’
8 “But you are not to be
called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on
earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called
‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you
will be your servant. 12 For
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be
exalted.
I can remember when I was still at
home my dad told me that I could call him anything but father. He told me I had One Heavenly Father, he was
referring to this verse. When we require
someone to exalt us over our Heavenly Father we had better be ready to be
humbled. I believe this is what Christ
is telling us in these verses.
As a leader it is easy to get caught
up in the power that you have and that is what happened to these men of cloth
in Jesus time. Because they were
appointed leaders, they felt it was their responsibility to tell others how it
would be and what they should do. I don’t
know, maybe they felt they had earned the right to not listen to their own
commands, but for whatever reason they did not follow them. They knew what to say but they didn’t know
how to actually do it. It is very easy
to say words but if we don’t recognize there is One greater than us we have
missed the point. There is only One who can
help us actually do what we say. These
men studied to show themselves approved and had all the head knowledge that
they could obtain yet they were lacking heart knowledge.
It is no different today. Leaders in our churches need to take special
note of these scriptures but so do those who are not in leadership. Notice who Jesus considers leaders, rabbis
(top leader), fathers (possibly pastor), teachers or anyone who is claiming the
Gospel of Christ. This could be a blog
writer in today’s society! None of us
are above our Heavenly Father. There is
nothing that I write in this blog that I don’t feel comes from my Lord and
Savior. I write what I gain from the Scriptures,
how they speak to me and hope that it will help someone else going through
trials of this world. Sometimes I am
tempted to measure the success of the blog by the numbers who actually go to
the site. OOOOpppppsssss, I should never
do that. If I am the only one that gets
anything out of the blog, then I was the one that needed to be taught that
lesson. I am not perfect but I have a
perfect God. None of us are perfect but
we can praise God that someday we will be made perfect in Him.
The problem with the Rabbis is that
they thought they were perfect, or that they were above the law not that they
were subject to the law. And what is
more, they felt it was up to them to add to the law. They required more of the people than God
did. Even though they said the right
words, they did not live by those words.
They begin to think that it was up to them to get things done, God did
not know how to do it the proper way and they didn’t like His timing so they
took matters into their own hands and did it themselves. It is difficult for a leader to turn things
over to the Lord because they are always wanting to fix things. Maybe you are a mother and you can relate to
this. Sometimes as a mother we want to
just fix things for our kids. We seem
them struggle and we want to go in and take care of it for them. We forget that God is in control and in His time
He will work it out. We forget to get on
our knees and pray.
If you are a pastor, teacher, or
mother you have people who look up to you.
Some listen intently to what you are saying and they strive to live by
your example not the Lord’s example. If
you are not living an example of Christ, they will follow, if you are living an
example of Christ, they will follow. Which
way do you want them to follow you? If
you are in that position it is a great responsibility and one that you need to
make sure that you give back to the Father.
Get to know those whom you serve for Christ, they are your brother or
sister, servants of Christ, they are not yours but His. Humble yourselves before the Lord each day,
recognizing He is in control, always has been and always will be. None of us want as much control as we think
we do. God knows all.
This is a lesson for each of us, not
just those who consider themselves leaders.
Some of us may think we are better than the next guy just because we are
a Christian. We forget that we are a
Christian solely by the grace of God. We
are no better than the next guy we have just seen the light and we need to show
them the way to it. We need to remember
that we are to draw all men to Christ, not push them away. We need to remember that Christ ate with the
tax collectors and the sinners, and that although He was perfect He was crucified
on the cross for our sins.
How are we acting today? Are we too good for some and not good enough
for others? Are we leaders who truly
love the Lord and have given everything into His control? Are we leaders who say one thing but practice
something totally different? Are we listening to the right words but are
frustrated because the words don’t match the actions of the ones saying
it? Or are we the leader that says one
thing but does totally the opposite.
Today we need to each examine our hearts, find out the motives for what
we do “for Christ”. Is it for our
pleasure, our status, our recognition, our pride or is it because we love Him
so very much that we want to serve Him with all our hearts? As you seek Him may you find Him dwelling
within you and may you love Him so deeply that you put aside your desires and
let Him have control of your life.
Seeking Him with all my heart and
serving Him with gladness,
Sheila
P.S.
If any of my brothers and sisters in Christ read a blog that I have
written and you think I need to apply it to my life in a deeper way, please
visit with me or message me about it. I
learn as I write these blogs, it is my quiet time. I most likely have
recognized it because the Lord is speaking to me but make sure that I am
walking on that narrow path. Hold me
accountable to His Word in order that He may be glorified.
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