Read Matthew 23
Do as I
say. Not as I do.
Many of us
old folks remember that saying. Most
won’t argue that such an attitude is not effective leadership. Lead by
example is much better.
This is the
exact attitude that Jesus pronounced upon the teachers of the law and the
Pharisees. But Jesus didn’t leave it
there. He told the people that they had
to obey these men with poor examples of leadership.
Do what
they say but not what they do. Ouch!
The
instructions that they give still come from God’s law even though they do not
understand God’s heart. They are
terrible shepherds but they have memorized the rules.
They do not
practice what they preach!
They will
list ad infinitum the rules that one must follow but won’t help the
least little bit.
Everything
that they do is done for show. They wear
some big boxes on their foreheads. They
have tassels galore on their robes.
Think of someone like Muammar Gadhafi. He was the dictator of Libya for
decades. He was also a colonel in the
Libyan army. His chest was always covered with medals. He wanted to look important.
This is a
rabbit trail but if you are the dictator of a country, why do you appoint
yourself a colonel? You think after 20
years, he would have promoted himself to general.
In any case,
the Pharisees liked to walk around with their rank and medals on full display,
getting the best seats wherever they went, being hailed as teacher or
rabbi. They were the epitome of an it’s all about me attitude.
Jesus noted
that the people must do what they say.
This was probably one of the least popular things that Jesus told the
people. It had to rank up there with love
your enemies.
But the
concomitant still applied. Do as they say not as they do.
Yes, you
live by a different model. There will be
people in authority that shouldn’t be in authority, but you are still called to
live according to righteousness even when those above you don’t have clue what
that is.
Some of you
have been in positions where the best you could do is say, when it’s my turn
I am sure not going to do things that way.
Don’t ever
apply this to your parents. It will come back to bite you. You might realize just how smart your parents
actually were once you become one. The
only perfect parents are those with no children of their own. Their thoughts and attitudes are always
perfect. They have never been put to the
test, so they are unblemished, at least until they have their own children.
So, let’s
exclude parents from this example, but most of us have had supervisors that the
best we could do is just catalog the learning experience as something we would
not do when we were in charge.
Some people
are just negative examples. Jesus told
the people that the Pharisees were negative examples. Do not follow their examples.
If you need
positive examples, use that of the Father or the Christ (who just so happened
to be the one teaching these people).
Don’t think
that you will ever know enough to be called teacher or rabbi. There is a sermon title that has been passed
down for decades, surely going well back into the previous century, maybe
further.
It is
called, Titles or Testimonies. I
don’t know the text of the original message but for many of us, the title fully
conveys the message.
When we
stand before Jesus, he does not want to see our curriculum vitae. He doesn’t
want to see our resume. He doesn’t want
our business card and he sure doesn’t care how many titles you can put before
and after your name.
Our
credentials are our love and service. Use
your gifts and talents to serve the Lord, mostly by loving one another and
serving others. When the roll is called
up yonder, titles won’t mean diddly.
It’s will be our testimonies that will be the substance of our
discussion with our Lord.
Here is your
nugget to think on.
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted.
It’s got a
last will be first and first will be last ring to it, don’t you think?
And whoever
exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Amen.
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