GodSprings - 20, March, 2017

Am I a Genuine?

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Luke 6:1

In our 6^th and 7^th class we had moral classes every week. Ms. Sunitha would lead the class. I am reminded of one of the stories that she shared. It’s a story about a wolf. This wolf decided he wanted to have a nice fat sheep for his dinner and so the wolf figured out the best way to catch a sheep is to look like one and sneak in among the fold. And so at night when the sheep were taken to the fold, the wolf got on his sheep covering and he stole in among the sheep and he nestled in gently and quietly. He waited until all the sheep were asleep so that he could pick the fattest one. But while he was there hidden, the shepherd too became hungry and decided to make a meal of one of the sheep. And so he went and looked for the fattest one and the fattest of any sheep would be a wolf. And so he found that one and before checking as to what it was, he took its life.

In this verse we see Jesus saying that God too judges those who pretend. Jesus throughout his Sermon on the Mount wanted to bring out this hypocrisy. The Pharisees and the scribes taught righteousness to the people. Last chapter we saw Jesus saying what they teach and this chapter unfolds how they live. He is asking a simple question – Does your theology and living go hand in hand?

This is a question that we too who claim to be his disciples and ministers need to ask. John Ortberg in his book Faith and Doubt says "the morality of a system doesn’t make the operation of the system. They both have to go hand in hand."

There are many among us who think that Christianity is all about what you do. Well it certainly is, but, we have lost the essential meaning of doing. Today doing for many of us is to go to church, give a little in the offering, attend prayer meetings, hold a prayer meeting at home. Well thats not all what you mean by doing is what Jesus is trying to teach us.

Jesus says whatever you do, be sure you do it not to be seen by men. He gives three illustrations (about giving, praying and fasting) which we will dwell upon in the next devotions. Jesus is picking our three religious activities which are also the elements of worship.

Giving has to do with our religion as it acts toward others. Praying ahs to do with our religion as it acts towards God. Fasting has to do with our religion as it relates to ourselves.

Warren Wiersbe in his book Be Worshipful says, “Two people can give. Two people can pray. Two people can fast. Two people can do religious deeds. You and I never know the difference to one…between one or the other and yet to God one is a source of joy, a sweet-smelling sacrifice and the other is smoke in his nose. And the difference is inside that person.”

Just like in the story God too not as unintentionally as that shepherd in our story, but rather purposefully will so take the life of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Dear friends, God judges hypocrites. He judges one who pretends to be one.

This Lenten season can we introspect our own lives? Are we hypocrites? Do we pretend?