Friday, August 19, 2011

WARNING AGAINST HYPOCRISY - AUGUST 20ST SATURDAY (Mt 23: 1-12)



Matthew 23:12 ‘All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
1.      For the Pharisees the laws have become as important to them as God’s law itself. Their laws were not all bad, some were beneficial, but they exaggerated the practice of these laws.

2.      What was the problem?
·        They gave the man made rules more importance than God’s laws
·        They obeyed the laws not to honour God but to make themselves look good.
·        They told the people to obey but did not do themselves.

3.       ‘Phylacteries’ – little leather boxes containing Scripture verses. Very religious people wear these boxes in their forehead and arms in order to obey Deut 6: 8, Ex 13: 9.

4.      People desire positions of leadership not only in business but also in the Church. It is dangerous when love for position grows stronger than loyalty to God.

5.      Sitting on Moses’ chair would mean, authority and power. Though we do not have any special reference to a special kind of chair, it can be compared to the ‘Chair of St. Peter’.

We see this reality of craving for power not only in political scenario, but also in religious scenario. People do long for power and authority. For those who are not well focused or those who are not rooted in prayer life, power can be a real temptation. There is a danger of losing their head and senses. They may even forget the fact that after a few years they had to lay down their office. We need not think of only higher authorities. All of us are given this power and authority to a certain extent. Parents do have power over their children; the elder child has certain authority over the younger child. Let us not forget that power and authority should always make us more humble and moderate instead of making us haughty and arrogant.

Courtesy
Life Application Bible

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