Being critiqued isn’t very fun. Even when it
is true on what you need to do better, it still feels like being hit with a
sledgehammer. But imagine if it was Jesus swinging that hammer.
In Matthew 23 Jesus calls out the scribes and
Pharisees for their behavior. He works them over pretty good. At the heart of
his message is their hypocrisy. They lack consistency. They make rules to break
them. They try to look good rather than being good. But notice where Jesus
starts in his condemnation.
“Therefore all that they tell you,
do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things
and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's
shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a
finger.”
Matthew 23:3-4
Jesus sees their error in telling others to
do when they won’t. They have high expectations but low work ethics. They know
what to do but expect others to do it
Now let’s apply this ourselves. What was the
last thing we complained about in the church? What fault did we find? What
thing that needed to be done?
Now let’s ask ourselves; What did I do about
it? How did I act to improve or correct the thing? Was my expectation for me or
someone else to do the work?
Jesus was very critical of those that tell
others what they should be doing without doing much of the work
themselves. We might want to make sure
that is not our habit as well (1 Corinthians 11:31).
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