Good Teachings and Bad Actions
Memory Verse:
'Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. '
James 3:13
Sermon Sentence: Beware the desire to follow God to impress others.
'Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. '
James 3:13
Sermon Sentence: Beware the desire to follow God to impress others.
Day 1
Read Luke 11:37-53
I was thinking the other day and it would seem to me that one of the hardest things to correct is a critical spirit. By that I mean it is difficult to diagnose ourselves. It is not difficult to criticize a critical spirit in someone else, but that almost sounds like an oxymoron by its very definition. I think it is difficult to criticize ourselves because we are oftentimes too busy pointing criticism at other people to have time to aim it at a purpose of self reflection. It is, at its very core, not about ourselves. The person that is able to see it in themselves must first be very good and open and honest at seeing themselves. All of this is why I learn from Jesus' approach here that the best way to make a critical spirit reflect on itself is to get it to see its own extreme in someone else. It is the extreme of a position that is almost comical to see, until, in humility, we see a version of the comedic caricature in ourselves. I can laugh at an extremely angry person that is way over the top in their screaming and yelling in public, and it is at that moment that I can also see how silly my smaller version of that anger is in my home…because in reality, I am being a little like that person I was laughing at.
The same thing is done with the way of the Pharisees. They are the caricatures that we can laugh at. But Jesus' point doesn’t seem to just be the exposure of the Pharisees to pick on a group. He seems to be highlighting what has gotten way out of control in them and also rears its ugly head in me. In a much smaller version for sure, but a version none the less. The beginning of humility seems to be when I can notice in some scale in myself, what I see as despicable in so many others.
How are you like the Pharisees in this passage?
What do you see as the danger of your small version of this attitude and what it can become?
How do you deal with this behavior so that it doesn’t become the same thing the Pharisees became?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
I was thinking the other day and it would seem to me that one of the hardest things to correct is a critical spirit. By that I mean it is difficult to diagnose ourselves. It is not difficult to criticize a critical spirit in someone else, but that almost sounds like an oxymoron by its very definition. I think it is difficult to criticize ourselves because we are oftentimes too busy pointing criticism at other people to have time to aim it at a purpose of self reflection. It is, at its very core, not about ourselves. The person that is able to see it in themselves must first be very good and open and honest at seeing themselves. All of this is why I learn from Jesus' approach here that the best way to make a critical spirit reflect on itself is to get it to see its own extreme in someone else. It is the extreme of a position that is almost comical to see, until, in humility, we see a version of the comedic caricature in ourselves. I can laugh at an extremely angry person that is way over the top in their screaming and yelling in public, and it is at that moment that I can also see how silly my smaller version of that anger is in my home…because in reality, I am being a little like that person I was laughing at.
The same thing is done with the way of the Pharisees. They are the caricatures that we can laugh at. But Jesus' point doesn’t seem to just be the exposure of the Pharisees to pick on a group. He seems to be highlighting what has gotten way out of control in them and also rears its ugly head in me. In a much smaller version for sure, but a version none the less. The beginning of humility seems to be when I can notice in some scale in myself, what I see as despicable in so many others.
How are you like the Pharisees in this passage?
What do you see as the danger of your small version of this attitude and what it can become?
How do you deal with this behavior so that it doesn’t become the same thing the Pharisees became?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Matthew 23:1-12
I wonder how we would have handled the Pharisees? It feels like we would have gathered many horror stories of how people have been hurt by their fakeness and then made a video exposing how dangerous these types of people are. We would have put a few layers of mental yellow tape around everything that they did and were a part of and call for the canceling of their ministries, casting shame on anyone that would have even gone anywhere near what they did. Maybe that would be a somewhat good approach to them. Maybe not. It certainly was not the approach that Jesus took. Jesus even said here that their teachings were something to listen to.
Does that mean they were good or even the best type of teaching? No. I think it just means that Jesus was saying they were getting their teaching, for the most part, from the Bible. If you know the Bible, you can discern what parts of their teaching is not matching their actions. It would be difficult to sit on this passage and give the lines for the things that we put up with in a teacher and the things that make us shut the door on them. Truth comes from God, not a teacher or a writer. Truth has come out of the mouths of some really bad sources and been very helpful in its use by God. That does not mean that all good teachings must come from good teachers. It does mean that we should be careful. And, we can be careful. If it is heresy and fully against God and His character, reject it and walk away from the teacher. If it is not exactly what you think the Bible is saying, and certainly not the way the person is living, learn from the truth and not the actions.
How have you experienced good teaching from a source that did not line up with what they believed?
How do you feel about that person's teachings after their actions were revealed?
We are all teachers to someone at some point…so how does this reality inform how you live and what you need to change in your life?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
I wonder how we would have handled the Pharisees? It feels like we would have gathered many horror stories of how people have been hurt by their fakeness and then made a video exposing how dangerous these types of people are. We would have put a few layers of mental yellow tape around everything that they did and were a part of and call for the canceling of their ministries, casting shame on anyone that would have even gone anywhere near what they did. Maybe that would be a somewhat good approach to them. Maybe not. It certainly was not the approach that Jesus took. Jesus even said here that their teachings were something to listen to.
Does that mean they were good or even the best type of teaching? No. I think it just means that Jesus was saying they were getting their teaching, for the most part, from the Bible. If you know the Bible, you can discern what parts of their teaching is not matching their actions. It would be difficult to sit on this passage and give the lines for the things that we put up with in a teacher and the things that make us shut the door on them. Truth comes from God, not a teacher or a writer. Truth has come out of the mouths of some really bad sources and been very helpful in its use by God. That does not mean that all good teachings must come from good teachers. It does mean that we should be careful. And, we can be careful. If it is heresy and fully against God and His character, reject it and walk away from the teacher. If it is not exactly what you think the Bible is saying, and certainly not the way the person is living, learn from the truth and not the actions.
How have you experienced good teaching from a source that did not line up with what they believed?
How do you feel about that person's teachings after their actions were revealed?
We are all teachers to someone at some point…so how does this reality inform how you live and what you need to change in your life?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read James 3
The desire to be a sort of teacher in the Gospel way, is an incredibly rewarding thing, but it is also an incredibly cautionary thing. James is talking to the teachers of God’s word in this chapter and when the general population is able to understand this teaching from a normal, non-teachers perspective, it should certainly not be lost on those that are teaching. God’s most powerful force is His word, because that is what He used to bring about all of existence. We were created in His image and a part of that is the power of language unlike anything that is wielded by any other of the creatures on earth. That was the long way of getting to the simple saying, “Words matter.”
The role of a parent or of a friend or even of a fellow worker, carries a weight not too much unlike this. If words matter, then they have to matter in all contexts. If we are disciple-making disciples that are always leading and always being followed, then surely there is no struggle to understand the importance we too should notice in the weight that our words carry. We must learn to be responsible for how we talk, what we say, and why we say it. We may not be steering large ships as the analogy that James uses here, but we are steering smaller vessels with less people onboard, but no less of the responsibility.
How have you found yourself hung up in the realization or the responsibility for your words lately?
How have you done with this responsibility?
How do you do better going forward?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
The desire to be a sort of teacher in the Gospel way, is an incredibly rewarding thing, but it is also an incredibly cautionary thing. James is talking to the teachers of God’s word in this chapter and when the general population is able to understand this teaching from a normal, non-teachers perspective, it should certainly not be lost on those that are teaching. God’s most powerful force is His word, because that is what He used to bring about all of existence. We were created in His image and a part of that is the power of language unlike anything that is wielded by any other of the creatures on earth. That was the long way of getting to the simple saying, “Words matter.”
The role of a parent or of a friend or even of a fellow worker, carries a weight not too much unlike this. If words matter, then they have to matter in all contexts. If we are disciple-making disciples that are always leading and always being followed, then surely there is no struggle to understand the importance we too should notice in the weight that our words carry. We must learn to be responsible for how we talk, what we say, and why we say it. We may not be steering large ships as the analogy that James uses here, but we are steering smaller vessels with less people onboard, but no less of the responsibility.
How have you found yourself hung up in the realization or the responsibility for your words lately?
How have you done with this responsibility?
How do you do better going forward?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 4
Read James 2:1-12
Jesus had a real problem with how the Pharisees wanted to be viewed by other people. Just as most teachings in the Bible go, the idea was not just for them. In Jesus’ kingdom, things would be different for everyone. People shared a common bond and that was to be the starting point of the dignity they should receive. That common bond was that they were created by God. Job, financial standings, race, family, titles, nor anything else changed that dynamic for anyone. For James, this meant that when people walked into the worship space that was focused on Jesus, then that was the principle everyone was to be met by. For James, it was not just an issue that made the culture better, but rather it was an issue of something he called the “sin of partiality.”
When you think about it carefully, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Jesus did not come to heal and help the rich, but rather to save the broken, sick, abandoned and alone. Those that our society has not given very much attention or care for. For Jesus, this was the mission that He also passed down to us. We are supposed to be like Him in this respect.
How would you describe to someone that is new to the Bible, the ideas of this passage?
Why do you think this is a vital part of the gospel of Jesus?
How have you struggled with a version of the “sin of partiality” in your life?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Matthew 18:1-14
Pharisees that are always trying to be seen and heard are not hard for us to imagine. I am sure that you are thinking, even right now, of someone that you know that is like this. They are easy to spot, because they are already loud and out front, wanting the attention. From our obscure positions, it is easy to see their faults and whisper about them. But I find it very interesting and probably, if I am being honest, I am a bit surprised to see the disciples wrestling with this same idea this late into the book of Matthew. How can you be so close to Jesus and so blind to the obvious truths He is trying to get across?!
Everyone loves a stage of some sort at some point. I am not saying everyone is the type of person that is always loving to be in front of people, but I am saying that we all at some point feel this tension. Some stages are smaller and get less eyes, even a few select eyes that we care about. We live in America and are trained from the very beginning to be the best and make it to the top, so surely we exist with some sort of flavor or desire to be seen and heard by the right people and to be appreciated by them.
What do you think Jesus meant about being like a little child in this sense?
What does it look like for you to be more humble in your life this week?
Why do you think that humility is a virtue in the Kingdom of God?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Pharisees that are always trying to be seen and heard are not hard for us to imagine. I am sure that you are thinking, even right now, of someone that you know that is like this. They are easy to spot, because they are already loud and out front, wanting the attention. From our obscure positions, it is easy to see their faults and whisper about them. But I find it very interesting and probably, if I am being honest, I am a bit surprised to see the disciples wrestling with this same idea this late into the book of Matthew. How can you be so close to Jesus and so blind to the obvious truths He is trying to get across?!
Everyone loves a stage of some sort at some point. I am not saying everyone is the type of person that is always loving to be in front of people, but I am saying that we all at some point feel this tension. Some stages are smaller and get less eyes, even a few select eyes that we care about. We live in America and are trained from the very beginning to be the best and make it to the top, so surely we exist with some sort of flavor or desire to be seen and heard by the right people and to be appreciated by them.
What do you think Jesus meant about being like a little child in this sense?
What does it look like for you to be more humble in your life this week?
Why do you think that humility is a virtue in the Kingdom of God?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
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