Jesus reserved his harshest words for those who were religious.  Some might wonder why Jesus was so hard on those who appeared to be trying so hard to do the right thing.  Shouldn’t Jesus have congratulated and celebrated them for their piety? 

Instead of praise, Jesus offered a rebuke – what had to be a painful critique!

What’s on the inside?

Sometimes in our spiritual walk, we can get enamored by our own virtues – standing so close to the mirror that we cannot see our own flaws.  Sadly, our myopia causes us to become judgmental and hypocritical.  We get puffed up and sanctimonious, and we forget that it is only by God’s grace that we are not consumed. 

We turn, ‘all have sinned’ to ‘y’all have sinned.’  And we place ourselves in danger of judgment. We are undone with a single question. 

What’s on the inside?

Can you hear the voice of the Spirit today? Has someone offended or frustrated you? Are you ready to curse them and throw them away?  Before you call down fire, take a long slow look in the mirror and ask yourself, ‘What’s on the inside?’

Yes, there are times when anger is appropriate, and righteous indignation is justifiable.  Yes, there are times when wrong needs to be called out and protest is necessary.  There’s a time when a curse seems like the right thing to do, but this is a slippery slope. We may find that we’ve become what we despise!

May God guard our hearts against self-righteousness, and cultivate compassion in our hearts toward others – especially those we think don’t deserve it. 

What’s on the inside?

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.

Matthew 23:27

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam