In part of the sermon yesterday morning, things about the Pharisees’ reactions to Jesus were pointed out. But then the point was made to be sure that we look at ourselves so we don’t do the same self-righteous, hypocritical things.
When we think of the Pharisees, we often think of other people in our churches or other types of Christians. We know who those self-righteous hypocrites are! But sometimes we ourselves are the Pharisees. The Pharisees gave offerings, they prayed, and they fasted, but instead of doing those things to honor and worship God, they were doing them to look good for other people. Do we do this? Do I go to church just to make an appearance, or do I go because God wants me to be there with my fellow church members? Do I tithe and give offerings because I want to feel good and so people with think I’m generous, or do I truly want to give back to God what is due Him and support the ministries He has set up in and through my church? Do I teach a Sunday School class for the prestige, or do I really care about making sure the kids in class know who Jesus really is? Do I play piano just for people to hear how good I am at it, or am I joining in worship to God with the talent He gave me? Do I bring up prayer requests just for the attention, or am I truly concerned and do I truly think prayers are effective?
Sometimes we can be the Pharisees without realizing it. It’s not wrong to be proud of what you’re doing for the Lord and to feel good about doing it, but when we realize we are taking the wrong kind of pride in our work and that our motives are wrong, we should change and do better. The Pharisees at some point realized they were wrong, but because most of them refused to admit it, they were the worse for it. As Jesus put it, they already had their reward, and it was only temporary attention from man, nothing of eternal value with God (Matthew 6). Let’s not make the same mistake. Let’s ask God to search us out and be sure we’re not harboring self-righteous hypocrisy in our lives.
Related:
We’ve Become the Pharisees
Would I and Do I Really Get Along with Jesus?
Would I React Differently?