Do As I Say

[Read Matthew 23:1-12]

Jesus has some things to say about the Pharisees and religious folks, and what He has to say doesn’t sound, well, very nice. Jesus, echoing the words of God to the prophet Micah, points out the inconsistencies of the religious people around Him. These religious folks seem to look nice, smell nice, think nice, sound nice, but Jesus isn’t impressed. They are lacking a key characteristic that would make them truly followers of God, not just nice religious people.

It’s a classic example of “do as I say, not as I do.” The Pharisees and scribes knew the right words and the right teaching, but failed to follow those words and teachings themselves. Jesus’ warning, “do whatever they teach you . . . but do not do as they do,” brings reality into sharp focus: be careful that your words and deeds match up if you’re going to call yourself a follower of God (v. 3, NRSV). Despite the correctness in their words, the Pharisees didn’t follow their own teachings. The Pharisees said one thing, but did another in their daily life. They make a nice “religious” show to watch, but their priorities are a bit out of place.

It’s a bit like Charlie the Tuna. Yes, Charlie the Tuna and the Pharisees have something in common. You see in Charleston, Oregon, a wooden statue of Charlie the Tuna stood at the South Slough Bridge entrance to town. He sat there until two young men decided to have a little fun and swiped Charlie. Like other mischievous young men, they wanted to take Charlie the Tuna and leave him in a random place in Charleston. No one gets hurt; it’s just a little prank. That is until the sheriff’s deputies started investigating. The young men ran back to Charlie’s hiding place and tried to move him . . . Charlie wouldn’t fit in the truck. That’s when the innocence of the prank ended and someone got hurt: the young men decided to cut up the wooden fish so they could move him. (It wasn’t preplanned, according to the young men). Fortunately deputies caught them in the act, and stopped them. Unfortunately, Charlie was “filleted,” revealing the rotten, hollowed-out insides of Charlie. What looked good on the outside (Charlie has been painted several times), was rotten to the core on the inside. Charlie seemed good, but reality was: Charlie wasn’t doing so well.

As modern day Christians, it’s easy for us to look to the Bible and see the inconsistencies of the Pharisees and the other “religious” folks. These people were actually rubbing elbows with God and yet can’t see Him for who He is. How can they have that sort of opportunity and miss it? They’d rather have Him killed than deal with the life-changing message He brought. The religious folks thought they knew what following God was all about: looking, sounding, smelling, behaving a certain way. If others at least see and hear you looking and sounding like a follower of God, then you’ve got it covered.

The Pharisees proclaimed holiness of heart and life, but offered empty, meaningless worship to God (it might have looked impressive, but lacked substance according to Jesus). They proclaimed God’s mercy as steadfast and yet failed to share compassion with the outsiders, unwanted, dirty, and unpopular amongst them. It’s unbelievable they had the gull to say one thing and do another, all while saying they loved God and others!
What would Jesus have to say about us today? Do we have inconsistencies in our talk and walk? We proclaim holiness of heart and life, but do we embrace it and live it? We have to stop and take stock of our life. As followers of Christ we must not get to the place where the outward signs and actions are the main point of our faith. Yes, they are important, but they must be consistent with what God calls us to--holiness. Let’s read what God had to say to the Israelites many years ago:
[read Micah 3:5-12]

Do you see the inconsistencies in saying one thing and doing another in the life of the Israelites? These followers of God were speaking of God, but they were not living as if they knew God at all. Micah, a prophet of God, says that the people of God “abhor justice and pervert all equity” (v. 9b). Rather than living out God’s mercy, the people of God despised mercy, justice, love. They didn’t look anything like God; they didn’t live anything like what they said. Do what they say, but don’t do what they do.

If Jesus were to come to our worship gathering today, what do you think He’d say about us? Would we look more like the Pharisees to Him? Would He find us saying the right things and singing the right worship songs, but missing the point? Or would Jesus see that what we talk about during Sunday School, our worship gathering, youth group, and Bible Study is what we live Monday through Saturday by the power of His grace? Christianity, truly being a follower of God, isn’t playacting. It’s not pretending. It’s not make believe. Christianity, truly being like Christ is sounding, looking, acting, behaving, being like God. We can all act like we know God. We can all say and do the right things. But it’s not worth trying unless you’re being like Christ.

Christ freely gives us the grace to align what we say we believe with how we live. We must accept that grace and live daily in God’s presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. How about you? Can we say and do what you say and do?