Quiet Time Notes
Notes from my daily Quiet Times with GodMinistry - Intimidated or Inspired?
February 1st, 2012Previous | Next
Matthew 23:1-7
The austere lifestyles of the Pharisees were not ones that Christ wanted us to imitate. They said all the right things and lived in all the wrong ways. People felt burdened around the Pharisees because they knew they could not match up to that kind of lifestyle. The Pharisees were not just legalists; they were separatists, which is what the word Pharisee means. They were men preaching a life too big for them to live. They did not readily inspire the average Jew to follow them. People were afraid of them. They lead by intimidation rather than by inspiration. In vs. 5, Jesus chastises them for doing everything for men to see. In vs.6 he condemns their obsession with position and again in vs. 7, Jesus rebukes their love of role. They did not attract the kind of following that Jesus did and this made them bitter and envious. They did not really have the hearts of the people because they had only a heart for themselves.
Do you call attention to yourself?
Do you focus on your position or your role and get angry when it is not what you want?
A person focused on men, role, or position will not want to serve and therefore will not inspire, only intimidate.
Find some way, even small way, in which you can serve or encourage someone today. This will be an inspiration to them and to you.
Key Phrase: Do we lead by intimidation rather than by inspiration
