Words from the Rock
And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, “Honor your father and mother,” and “Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.” But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, “Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.” In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.
Matthew 15:3–6 NLT
Jesus has just been challenged by some religious leaders whose goal is to make him look bad by accusing him of ignoring their laws and traditions. They’re slamming him for not going through a somewhat ridiculous and very tedious ceremonial hand-washing exercise before eating. But Jesus tosses the question right back at them. His purpose is to point out their hypocrisy and selfishness because he knows how they manipulate religious laws for their own benefit. He is aware of how these supposed religious leaders get rich at the expense of the very people they are supposed to be serving.
To further drive his point home, Jesus quotes from one of their own prophets, Isaiah, by saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God” (vv. 8–9 NLT).
It seems that nothing aggravated Jesus more than religious hypocrisy. In fact, the only times Jesus showed real anger was in regard to religious fakers. Who could blame him? What is worse than someone pretending to be godly so they can take advantage of others? It’s like they think they can use God for their own benefit, whether it’s a TV evangelist who extorts money from a poor, guilt-ridden viewer, or a teenage girl who fakes her Christian faith in order to get the attention of a cool Christian guy. It all stinks.
Jesus wants you to avoid being a fake by keeping your faith authentic and honest—straight from the heart. Really, why would you settle for anything less?
My Prayer
Dear God,
Help me to keep my faith real, even if it means admitting my faults to others. Teach me to guard my heart against hypocrisy.
Amen.
Final Word
Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.
Psalm 119:34 NASB
Stone for the Journey
I will keep my faith real.