"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
Proverbs 27:17
That verse was the last to come to me today as I was dealing with another Christian the other day. The first reference was I Corinthians 13:4-6. I felt justified because the other person was not exhibiting love. In fact, in my eyes, they were doing the opposite; they were being rude!
Watch out for self righteous attitudes because they can create unrighteous actions.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Mary and Martha
In Matthew 6:34, Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough worries of its own. When Jesus came to Martha's house He said to her, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better..."
Many times in my youth, the sermon was preached that Martha was wrong and Mary was right. That is not what Jesus is saying though. In fact if we follow the right vs. wrong argument, we rob Jesus of His cultural understanding.
You see, it was Martha's house. As the owner, Martha was responsible for the well being of all her guests. She undoubtedly washed Jesus' feet, prepared food, drew water, and prepared a room for the Messiah. Mary on the other hand, sat at the feet of Jesus the entire time. This is the same Mary, the gospel tells us, who poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet.
At the time of Mary's extravagence, the disciples scoffed at her. They thought her offering was a waste, but Jesus saw her heart. Remember, man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. He knew that the real issue was not that the disciples wanted to use the proceeds of the perfume sale to help the poor, but rather they wanted to appear pious in front of men.
Jesus' response regarding the poor was not motivated by indifference to poverty, but rather in response the diciples' heart. Each one of us can relate to the disciples. We spend time with Jesus, we proclaim He is the Son of God, and we pray with Jesus just like them. And just like them we sometimes fail to see the full picture. We cannot allow the duties of life or even of Christianity rob us of truly glorifying God and we must not stop others in their adoration.
From the beginning God has usedpeople because of their heart. I believe it is a challenge where God wants to see if we will follow the cult of personality or the power of His word. Through the constant struggle of religious form versus religious function there is one constant,
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
Many times in my youth, the sermon was preached that Martha was wrong and Mary was right. That is not what Jesus is saying though. In fact if we follow the right vs. wrong argument, we rob Jesus of His cultural understanding.
You see, it was Martha's house. As the owner, Martha was responsible for the well being of all her guests. She undoubtedly washed Jesus' feet, prepared food, drew water, and prepared a room for the Messiah. Mary on the other hand, sat at the feet of Jesus the entire time. This is the same Mary, the gospel tells us, who poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet.
At the time of Mary's extravagence, the disciples scoffed at her. They thought her offering was a waste, but Jesus saw her heart. Remember, man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. He knew that the real issue was not that the disciples wanted to use the proceeds of the perfume sale to help the poor, but rather they wanted to appear pious in front of men.
Jesus' response regarding the poor was not motivated by indifference to poverty, but rather in response the diciples' heart. Each one of us can relate to the disciples. We spend time with Jesus, we proclaim He is the Son of God, and we pray with Jesus just like them. And just like them we sometimes fail to see the full picture. We cannot allow the duties of life or even of Christianity rob us of truly glorifying God and we must not stop others in their adoration.
From the beginning God has usedpeople because of their heart. I believe it is a challenge where God wants to see if we will follow the cult of personality or the power of His word. Through the constant struggle of religious form versus religious function there is one constant,
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
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