"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach." Matthew 23:2-3 NLT
Here, Jesus was describing the Pharisees and declared that they were interpreters of the law of Moses. Therefore, He told His disciples to practice and do what they say but not to follow their example because, many of them were hypocrites and taught one thing but didn't live up to it themselves. They were a judgmental people and often insisted that man-made rules were equal with God's rules.
When you look through the Gospels you will see them condemning this and judging that and putting burdens upon people. Religion when it is used in this way, causes many problems and wars, throughout our world. Sadly, there are some Christians that put burdens upon their fellow believers, saying that their behaviour or dress is not in line with the Word of God or whatever.
In my early walk with Jesus, these type of people used to make me feel inferior because I was young and had little experience. Initially, this caused me a problem but I worked out that, when I mature, people like this will tell me I am too old. I decided not to try and people-please from thereon and concentrate on pleasing God. A far better plan.
We come up against all sorts of people and as long as they are honouring God, that is all we should be concerned about. Some people believe that they know everything and this can be difficult, especially when you are running a bible group. If you are not careful, they can take over. This reminds me of the old saying I've mentioned several times: 'If you let Satan into the back seat of your car, pretty soon he is going to want to drive.'
This leads me to back-seat drivers. We've probably all had to suffer this from time to time. You give someone a lift and very soon, they begin giving you instructions of where to park, what gear to drive in, watch your speed and you can't park there. You need wisdom and grace to deal with these people. I've often thought of stopping, telling them to get out and driving off. But that is not what Jesus would do, is it?
The back-seat driver is just as difficult to deal with as the person who puts you down in church or tries to take over the teaching. Again, grace is called for and a zip on your mouth. It's true, we will never find a perfect person, I'm nowhere near that. Hey, watch it, neither are you. Joking aside, We have to practice what we preach. Our role model is Jesus, everything we do, should represent Jesus; not easy I know but, achievable. The Pharisees had the law of Moses but many didn't live it. We have God's Word and we are called to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ and, that means, putting up with back-seat drivers and people who know everything. Amen?
Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.
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