Motives are important. The reason we do things are important to God, and they should be important to us, as well. In our Gospel reading for this week, we read of how Jesus warns us to be watchful of our motives, and why we perform acts of piety. Jesus contrasted two totally different people, one a scribe, and the other a poor widow. Let’s see what we can learn from this passage of Scripture.
Scribes at the time of Jesus were well educated individuals, and had vast knowledge of both religious and secular laws. They often assisted in handling legal matters, drafting legal documents. They also would make copies of the Scriptures in the days before the printing press, when everything had to be written by hand. Many of the scribes were also part of the religious group of the Pharisees.
It is very easy to get puffed up and full of oneself when one has a certain amount of education and a respected position in society. Unfortunately this includes those in the realm of religion. Though not every scribe or Pharisee was proud or sought out acclaim from people, very many were. This is something that Jesus addressed and brought to the attention of His audience (vs 38-40). Jesus exposed the religious leaders impure motives. They exploited people, cheating the poor out of their money, “devouring widows’ houses”. They took advantage of the rich, and all done under a religious pretext. By their hypocritical pious actions, they hoped to gain status, recognition, and respect. They prayed long, showy prayers, probably filled with a lot of big theological words. They wanted to be noticed and applauded wherever they went.
We see a lot of this today. Many so-called religious leaders try, through twisting of Scripture, to get money from their followers. “Give money and God will bless you. Give and He will answer your prayers.”, thus cheating people out of their money. They want the best time slots on TV, the best seats on planes, and in restaurants and hotels. They want recognition and glory thrown their way. Jesus warns against trying to make a good impression on others by hypocritical religious behavior. They have no true love for God. A true follower of God should not be known for showy spirituality. When we pray in public, go through any religious rituals, or read our Bible, are we doing it to be noticed and honored? What we do should be done strictly for Jesus, whether anyone else notices or not.
The scribes and Pharisees in the past had a responsibility to shape the faith of the people. If their behavior was inconsistent of a servant of God, their punishment would be severe (vs. 40). Those leaders would often lay heavy burdens on others with their petty rules, while they lived greedily and deceitfully. They oppressed and misled the people that they were supposed to be leading to God.
Jesus then proceeds to observe the people as they put offerings into the Temple offering box (vs 41-44). Again, there were people who made a big show of putting in large sums. They wouldn’t quietly deposit their offering into the box. No, they wanted to be seen and acknowledged for their generosity. We see many like that today. When the offering plate is passed at church, they lay their offering right on top, face up, so everyone can see what they gave. Jesus pointed out the poor widow to His disciples. Though her offering amounted to just a couple of cents, in God’s eyes it was more valuable than the hundreds of dollars the rich gave. The widow gave all that she had to live on. She would not be able to eat until somehow she could earn some more money. In those days that would be difficult, as women could not just go out and get a job like they can today. Without a husband or son to support her, a widow could very easily starve to death.
The value of a gift is not determined by the amount, but by the spirit with which it is given. A gift given with a grudging spirit, or one given in order to be seen or recognised, loses its value. One given out of gratitude to God and a spirit of generosity is of value to Him. Let’s examine our hearts to see what our motives are like. Are we looking around to see if people notice what we put in the offering plate? Do we look to see if they notice how big of a Bible we carry, how often we come to church, or what activities we take part in at church? Is what we are doing motivated by a desire of praise and acceptance by others, or by our love for God?
No comments:
Post a Comment