When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you do? Shower? Eat breakfast? Brush your teeth? Most people have a routine that they follow each day, except for the occasional holiday and weekend. Now, for some people their routine is healthy and productive. They have found the best way to motivate themselves each day and use their routine to achieve maximum productivity. Yet, for others, their routine is harmful, lazy and produces only enough energy to just get by. When we look at these two different approaches to life, we probably all recognize changes we need to make in our physical lives. I know I do, but do we recognize the changes we need to make in our spiritual lives?
In Matthew 23, the Scribes and the Pharisees were living their lives just how they wanted. They were telling people to live one way while they were living another way. They were making themselves look good on the outside while on the inside they were full of corruption. They were upholding parts of the Law while they were forgetting other parts all together. In Matthew 23:27-28, Jesus continued His examination of their lives and said they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Obviously, their lives were not pleasing to the Lord.
What about our spiritual lives? Do we live like the scribes and Pharisees? Are we full of hypocrisy and lawlessness? Many Christians today are caught in the harmful trap of not really living for Jesus. To so many, a successful day as a Christian just means not knowingly doing anything wrong. We get in the routine of getting up each day, not committing any sins people will call us out on and going to bed feeling pretty satisfied each night. We go to Bible study and worship each week, sit on our normal pew, sing, pray and take of the Lord’s Supper. We feel that in the end we are doing all right. However, what about actually living for Jesus?
I believe we all can recognize the areas in our spiritual lives that need to change, but we have to want to change for our Lord. Christ must be the focal point of our lives, and as His holy people, we should work each day to do His will.
