Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:23-24
I am disturbed by today’s political climate. I think most of us are. But the thing that disturbs me is different from what I sense disturbs others based on what I read on Facebook or in news reports and other political commentaries. The thing that disturbs me is how easily we defend the viewpoints of “our” side while condemning the viewpoints of the “other” side. It’s not that having a viewpoint is a problem. We all have viewpoints on all kinds of things. Rather it’s the unfiltered support of our side even if our side is doing the very same things that the other side is doing which we condemn.
Jesus didn’t address Republicans nor Democrats during His public ministry. But He had some very strong words for the religious leaders of his day who had great political power and used it for their own advantage. The strongest of these words are found in Matthew 23 in a section of the gospel that is often called the Woes. Much like an Old Testament prophet, Jesus aimed one woe after another at the Pharisees and scribes calling them hypocrites and blind guides.
In one of the woes, Jesus condemns their selective keeping of the law. They were meticulous in their tithing while oblivious to weightier matters of the law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He likened their hypocrisy to straining a gnat and swallowing a camel.
There’s little doubt but that more than a few of the common people of the day found Jesus’ statement somewhat comical. Jesus was putting into words what many of them likely felt but would have never voiced for fear of retribution. But Jesus wasn’t seeking to be funny. He was dead serious. The religious leaders were undermining the very foundation of the faith of Israel by their hypocritical actions.
I think this has much to teach us about today’s political climate. It seems that both Republican and Democratic leaders do a lot of gnat straining about the other side’s opinions and actions while swallowing the camels of greed, corruption, moral compromise, and the abusive of power. This isn’t a partisan swipe. I contend that evidence of these things abound on both sides.
There may not be much that we, the average citizens, can do about this other than to try to elect people who have some scruples about them and won’t compromise them just to get reelected. But we don’t have to strain the gnats and swallow the camels with them. If we do, then woe be unto us.
This is a good word, Brian; thank you!
In my own discourse during this now extended season, I have tried to be factual, clear, and direct. And, yes, I have responded in faith to some sense of ‘prophetic calling,’ if I can put it that way, to speak into these issues, especially since so many American ‘evangelical’ (whatever that means any more) ‘Christians’ (ditto) — the vast majority, it seems — have gotten swept up in (swept away by?) this mass Trump and Trumpism delusion, and largely to the discredit of Christians, Christianity, the Church, and Christ!
And I admit: My own use of pejorative language sometimes bothers me. However, my observation would be twofold: 1) Nicer, less direct, less personal language has not worked, and 2) both Jesus in the passage you cite, as well as The Prophets before Him, did not hesitate to use such charged and highly pejorative use of language when the occasion warranted it. We are, as C. S. Lewis put it, not always called to “be the nicest people in the world,” though perhaps “somewhat nicer than we once were or otherwise might have been” without and/or before Christ came.
Anyway, good writing, Brian; keep it up; and may our Great God, Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you, Clella, your boys, and their families! mlw
Good to hear from you. Yes, it is challenging to know how best to share a word of truth in these days. I know for me that I always have to check what is underneath my sharing so that I can be confident that what I’m sharing is not only true but also best represents the heart of our Lord. That’s especially true when we are seeking to be prophetic. Thanks for reading my blog. I trust that you are doing well.