Internal Spring Cleaning

Matthew 23:25-28

25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

This portion of scripture is jam packed and pretty harsh. Yet, when I think of the message Jesus was sending I understand his passion. The Pharisees were supposed to model what an ideal follower of God looked like. In reality, they took this job too seriously and lost out on the true meaning. They were so good at looking good that the Pharisees had laws to prevent themselves from breaking God’s laws, and even a different name for God, as not to accidently use it in vain.

Jesus was frustrated because the Pharisees were so outward focused. When I think of a whitewashed tomb, the illustration is pretty gruesome. Yet, the Pharisees had lost all relationship with God because they had gotten side tracked of what was really important. God wants a relationship that starts with who we are on the inside. By being real with God, we are really authentic with everyone else around us. As Christians, it is easy to give off a vibe that everything is perfect. In reality, we are supposed to confess our sins one to another (James). Putting up a fake front will only last for a period of time. Letting the Lord work on who you really are lasts a lifetime.

Reflection

1. Why does the Lord use two woes in the passage above?
2. Where in your life does the Lord need to work internally?
3. How can you influence others in your network to be truly authentic?

Take the Next Step

Being real all the time is not easy. When I first became a Christian, I looked around and saw how perfect all my friends lives looked. For a time I thought my life had to reflect their life. The Lord showed me that by just being real with him in my quiet times and elsewhere was what he really desired. Christians have a bad rap for being hypocritical. This week and the weeks to come, take the next step by allowing the Lord to work on areas of your life that are not as positive as you would like them to be. By simply confessing and opening up to the power of the Holy Spirit you can be on your way to inner healing that is truly authentic on the outside.