Blind Guides

Blind Guide

 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’  
You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?  
You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’  
You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?  
Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.  
And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.  
And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. 
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. 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.”  
Matthew 23:16-23
Her Jesus is criticizing the teachers for their practices. They are too busy teaching about the material things that come into the temple but forget the more important matters of Justice, mercy and faithfulness.
I see especially in the media televangelists constantly teaching on giving money into the Lords work.
The classic example is ‘seed faith’. Give to get is how many preachers who bring the topic up teach.
Some are going as far as saying be faithful with your pledge to keep this ministry going and God will bless you many times over.
On one occasion I was even shocked at a person saying if you don’t honour God with your tithes and offerings to their ministry God will not honour or bless you.
This is not what the Bible says.
It seems to be a common thing with such ministries that they also are spouting off about all the ills of the world.
They centre out groups, politicians, and individuals people of various lifestyles, whom they claim promote sinning. Usually people with whom they don’t see eye to eye.
In doing so the true lesson of Christ is missed one of Justice Mercy and Faithfulness.
 How sad, especially when the message of the gospel is one of the love and mercy of God.
God understands the heart and the position everyone is in. God meets people where they are at.
He does not care how much you give financially to His work. He cares about the spiritual condition of each person and wishes to come into a personal relationship with them.
This is the true message of the gospel.
As Christians we and our leaders need to examine what we are teaching and make sure that it is the true message of the Gospel of Christ. That justice  love and mercy are being preached both in our lives and in the church congregation we attend.
We need to seek out people who are espousing the doctrine of the Love and Mercy of God.
We in our own lives need to be showing to the world God’s Love and Mercy.
Think about it.