Practice What You Preach

Matthew 23:1-4 - Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

 

Jesus took every opportunity to teach to anyone that was listening. The crowds that had gathered included many of the leaders of the Jewish Church…the Pharisees and Sadducees that had filled Moses’ role as law enforcers. Jesus was careful to tell the people that the laws were important…to keep them and do what the leaders told them. He was also very clear about the fact the keeping a law was not just talk.  We need to practice what we preach.

 

Even though the leaders had got off track with their interpretations of some of the laws…making them more about man than worshipping God…the base laws were good and needed to be enforced. The problem that Jesus had with these leaders is that their walk did not match their talk. Jesus was calling them out on all the things they did simply for show…he could see the heart underneath those extended robes and large prayer boxes they wore on their arms….they never used the prayers inside the boxes to enlarge the heart.

 

I admit that it is hard to always do the right thing…to always practice what we preach. But when we realize that we share this character trait with the leaders who plotted against Jesus…it should motivate us to stay away from this kind of Christianity.  It is our hearts that God wants fully transformed into His likeness….for us to join the ranks of people like Moses…and David….and Paul…who let God have all of their hearts and resources to use for His glory.

 

Father...thank you for the reminder that I need to practice what I write each day. If I claim to know what to do …and I do not do it…I become one of the blind hypocrites that Jesus called the leaders of His day.  Forgive me for the times that I have justified not following your will exactly because of the many excuses I can dream up.  Help me to use what you have taught me to make the right choices….choices based on your word alone.  Amen.