Hypocrites

I have been reading from Matthew this morning. I want to know, what were Jesus' words; what did He say? The greatest command, Matthew 22:37-40, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind...Love your neighbor as yourself." If we can do this, we can do the rest that He desires from us. If I truly desire God and I truly want Him in my life; If I love Him more than I love myself, then I can love others, as well.

What a way to start my day. All that I have to do is love. When my husband comes to me with anything that he needs from me, I can do it. This seems so simple and easy to do: until he wakes up. Why is that? If I love God, then I will walk with a serving attitude. Why is this so hard for me? My husband is the closest thing to a neighbor that I have. He is my first priority, then my children. They are my neighbors; they are right here in my home. I feel like I am putting God first, until I am interrupted by them. If you love God, you will not intentionally live in sin. You will live to please Him. His greatest desire is for me to walk in love. Why then is this so hard?

I look at all that God has done for me and I can feel like such a failure. I did nothing to change my life, He did it all for me. He opened the doors, all I had to do was take a step. I have done nothing to deserve anything. All that I can do is take that next step. This is all that He requires of me: Love Him and walk with Him in love towards others.

When reading Matthew 22, I couldn't stop there, Jesus was still talking to the same crowd. He had not stopped with that one statement. In Matthew 23, Jesus rebukes the teachers very harshly. In all the sins that He has previously discussed, none of them warrant a thrashing like He gives to them. Hypocrisy is the one sin that you can feel His passion as He delivers His message to them. "So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. They crush you will impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. Everything they do is for show... Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won't go in yourselves.... Blind guides! How terrible it will be for you...you ignore the important things of the law-justice, mercy, and faith... Blind guides!... Hypocrites! You are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy-full of greed and self-indulgence!.. Hypocrites!... You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness... Hypocrites!.. Snakes! Sons of vipers!.."

Oh my goodness, I do not want to be on the receiving end of that. He asks only one thing of me and that is to love. I must consciously walk with love as my greatest desire, every day. I am a selfish person, who wants others to do for me. Just yesterday, I was very upset with my husband. He was trying to look at the big picture and I was seeing what "I" wanted. He was so patient with me. He stayed at the house and explained patiently for me everything that he was trying to accomplish. He was walking in love. I wanted what "I" wanted. This happens far too often. He has been the best gift that I could have ever asked for, and I did not even want or deserve that one. I heard someone say, "Wisdom comes from experiences, your own or someone else's." I lack wisdom in love, but thankfully God has given me a very wise husband. He has been one of my main teachers, he shows me love even when I do not deserve it.

I must continually evaluate my life. I am a fallen daughter of Eve. I am selfish and disobedient. But, I thank God for His loving grace that allows me to start new every day. He has brought to my attention His greatest desire and that is for me to love Him and others. It is not about me and what I want. It is about Love and walking in that love, every minute of every day. The last thing that I want to hear Jesus say to me is that I was a Hypocrite. I want Him to say, "Well done good and faithful servant." First I must walk in love towards my God and my family. It starts at home; the roof over my head and the heart in my body.