Daily Devotional for Tuesday 2nd July
Status Conscious
Although, earlier in the day Jesus had commended the teacher of the law who came to see Him privately, now, as a group of leaders, He condemns them on two counts. First of all, about their false or incorrect teaching and then about their hypocrisy. Despite what they had seen of Jesus as He started His ministry, despite Psalm 110 saying that a descendent of King David would be the Messiah, they do not connect this with Jesus as the fulfillment of that prophecy.
He then moves onto their lifestyles. Today such a lifestyle would fall into the celebrity category. Fancy clothes, expecting VIP status, attention seeking and enjoying it when people suck up to them. But worse than that, these religious leaders even exploit the weak and vulnerable by ‘devouring widows’ houses.
You might think that doesn’t happen today, but check out a New York pastor called Lamor Whitehead who is also known as the ‘Bling Bishop’. He was recently given a 9-year jail term for fraud having been found guilty of deceiving church members with false promises and stealing their money to purchase items including fancy clothing and cars.
Well, you’re right that such a situation is most unlikely to happen to you, but we can still be hypocrites in other ways that aren’t so obvious. The challenge for us is to live a life that matches up to what we believe and say; a lifestyle that emulates Jesus.
Time to reflect…
The media seeks to make out that it’s normal and OK to spend lots of money on things that make us feel and look good. Use this time to reflect on what others may think about the way we live our lives.
Pause to pray…
Heavenly Father, we pray for church leaders and others who have positions where they are seen to have status. Help them to keep their eyes firmly fixed on you as their guide so that they may resist the temptation to seek undue privileges. Make that true for us as well, we pray. Through Jesus Christ our Servant King. Amen
