Its parables like this one that just scare me. When did the Pharisee cross the line? Obviously the easy answer is "when he came to depend upon his own righteousness rather than God's". But the question next to my heart is what did it look like when he crossed that line?
He gave himself to preserving the blood-line of Christ, to maintaining Judaism in its purest form. He studied the scripture, he went to the right places, he fasted twice a week, he tithed and he avoided what society considered to be major sins. He had great intentions and, at least at the beginning we assume, he had a good heart. So what does it look like when acts of piety move from being acts to place me before God or shape my behavior to being more Godly to become acts that move me away from God because of my misplaced confidence in them?
It scares me to think that my heart could just as easily forget the real motivation behind changing my behavior and I could miss the heart of God while dedicating my life to seeking it.
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