"So practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them." Matthew 23:3 Amplified Study Bible
In Jesus' time, most synagogues had a stone seat at the front of the building where men of authority would preach and teach the Law. This was known as Moses' seat. Jesus, listening to the Pharisees teaching, later spoke with His disciples about the Pharisees explaining, that much of their teaching was sound but, they were hypocritical. He discussed the points in which their hypocrisy neutralised the validity of their instruction.
The Pharisees were good at telling people what to do but, not good at carrying out these instructions themselves. This is why He addressed their hypocrisy. Instead of helping to relieve the burden of others, the Pharisees weighed them down with burdens, putting great trips upon them.
Let us think about this for a moment, Can we be like this? Do we live up to what we preach - what we talk about, and then, have a meltdown when things begin to go wrong for us? Basically, are we in control of our situations, or do we forget about what we have read in the bible when something goes against our thinking? It can be anything; one moment we can be flowing in the Holy Spirit and then, crash, something takes our focus and we have a meltdown, say a few unkind words to someone and generally do not live up to what we are preaching.
We are all the same. Some are better at handling things than others but, we all trip up and lose our peace when we take our eyes off Jesus. It is mostly to do with our thought life. Something happens, possibly in a second and it completely takes over. Our thoughts process something and if we are not careful, words come out of our mouths that we didn't intend saying. It could be said that we need to check our hearts Matthew 15:16-20, and this is true. However, our hearts can be full of Jesus one moment and then cursing a situation or someone, the next. We need to get the balance right.
Thankfully, we have a great mentor in Jesus. He will forgive us when we let ourselves down. However, He wishes for us to get the balance right and practice what we preach, otherwise people see hypocrisy in action and it negates our testimony.
If this has spoken to you, believe me, you are not alone. We are all able to act in such a way but it is now, time to deal with this problem. Join me in this prayer:
'Lord Jesus, please help me to get my life right with You. I let myself down so much and therefore, You too. Please help me to be able to cleanse my heart so that, only You, Lord, are on display, not hypocrisy. Lord I ask in Your name. Amen.'
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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