Beware of the Scribes

Lk. 20:46

"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers.  They will receive the greater condemnation."

What a warning for a religion of show!  Even though the scribes studied and knew much about their religion, they were consumed with self-glorification, loving the show of the religion and not the heart of the religion.  To begin with they enjoyed the clothes, the greetings, the best seats, and the places of honor. They loved to be noticed, recognized, and applauded.  They lived for the praise and esteem of men.  In this passage there was nothing  mentioned about their private relationship with God, their time in the prayer closet, or even their teaching of others even though they were the religious leaders of the day and the keepers of the written records of their faith.  They had access to the words of God and His workings in their lives, but what did they do with it?  Nothing! They had turned it into a sham.  The words they recorded were not the substance of their lives but the means for their self aggrandizement.

Not only did they desire the praise and the honor of men, they devoured the widows' houses and knowingly made their prayers a pretense.  Oh no!  They had gone beyond Narcissism to stealing and taking advantage for their own personal financial profit.  To cover up their greed and corruption, they pretended to pray.  Didn't they realize whose words they were writing and to whom they were supposedly praying?  They will receive the greater condemnation because they were privy to the truth but threw it away for the world's offerings.  They chose to make a mockery of the Truth and debased their calling. Whoa! 

Sadly, I know that sometimes I want the praise of men, to be noticed for what I do for the Lord. So obviously, I am not doing it for the Lord. The account of these men really shows me the route that desiring a little praise can take.  What power the flesh has to overcome the spirit!

Father,

Expose and root out my desire for praise of men.  Help me to focus on You only and do all for Your glory. Give me Your grace to mortify my flesh and grow my spirit.

In Jesus name,

Amen