Thoughts on Luke - Day 53

                                               Luke 11:43

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces."


              Do you like to be noticed at Church? Do you like to be recognized for your acts of service? Do you want people at church to talk about you as being a spiritual giant, a prayer warrior, a sacrificial and cheerful giver, the backbone of the Church, a saint? Whereas all those descriptions are good, to strive for or care about being noticed, moves it into the Pharisee realm. I cringe at churches who offer better parking spots for higher donors, put framed pictures on the wall of the elders over the years, put names in hymnals of people who have donated the money for them, put names of families on bricks that are used to build structures that they have donated money for, etc. I even get concerned when people make extravagant gifts to the church that are earmarked for certain things outside of the general budget like a harp, pipe organ, piano, etc. Not only are these subtle ways of assuring that your style of music/ worship will be continued, but they draw attention to you everytime someone sees them.

          I think we have a vivid reminder of this in Acts. Barnabas sold a field and laid all the money at the Apostle's feet in the early church, and was recognized for it in Acts 4:37. That started the problem. Ideally it should have been done and no one knew where the budget suddenly got all the money from. However, people knew Barnabas did it, so along comes a couple named Ananias and Sappphira who decide to sell some property, keep some for themselves, which was fine, but then to tell the church that they, like Barnabas, gave all the money to the church. Why would they do that? They wanted to be recognized. They had Pharisee in them. They wanted people to say, "There goes Ananias and Sapphira that Godly couple". They wanted recognition from the apostles. They wanted to go out to dinner with the apostles. They wanted a plaque. They wanted their own pew. Whatever they wanted, it was wrong. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for it and he rebukes us for it. Let's stop it. Face it, we aren't any better than anyone else. We all are sinful to the core and the only good in us is Jesus so if we want to brag on Jesus - well OK, but if we feel it welling up in us that everyone is getting recognized except us, let's rejoice in that because we are beating down the Pharisee in us.

     Lord, deliver me from the desire to direct glory away from You and others, toward myself. You alone are worthy, not me. Amen