Matthew 23:1-12
Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” Jesus says in verses two and three that the scribes and Pharisees have the proper authority to speak to the people, but that they do not act on what they preach. That is, He tells His followers to listen to their words, but not to follow their actions. Then He goes on, by way of explanation, to hit on a verse that troubles me: …and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. (vv. 6-7) It troubles me because it’s another pride fault in my life. I like being referred to as “Dr. Ruppel”. I like speaking to a crowd and having people tell me what a good job I’ve done. I even like you RTB’ers telling me to stay with this group when I was ready to drop it after ten years. You truly touched my heart, effectively saying, “We love you too much.” Yeah, I like all that…too much!!
So how to overcome that pride thing? The last two verses in today’s reading speak truth – be a servant and be humble. I try to give the glory to God whenever I am complimented on this or that thing. I know I’ve been blessed with a number of gifts and without those God-given gifts I would never be in any position to receive “the praise of men”. I think I do the servant thing OK, but it’s a hard thing for me to be humble. I’m working on it.
Slava Bohu!