Daily Devotions
Am I a Pharisee?
Reading for January 30: Leviticus 8-10
Weekly reading for January 28-February 3: Matthew 20-24
Title: Am I a Pharisee?
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.
Matthew 23:1-5
It's become more and more in vogue to accuse adversaries in religious debate as being Pharisees. We need to be careful when making such charges because we will be judged by whatever measure we use to judge others.
How do I know if I'm behaving like a Pharisee? Here's some questions to consider:
1. Am I committed to following God's laws or man's traditions? It should be noted that Jesus never condemns the Pharisees for carefully following the law. "The Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you," Jesus said. What he condemned them for was tying up heavy burdens (their traditions) while not following their own traditions consistently, let alone the law itself.
2. Am I practicing what I preach? This one hits me close to home. I do a lot of preaching. It makes me especially vulnerable to this sin. What about you? Are you merely talking a good game? Or are you backing up your talk with action?
Father, I think we all recognize a little bit of Pharisee in ourselves. Help us to be more aware of our own sins. Help us to be less concerned about what others think of us and more concerned about what you, Father, think of us.
