“So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t our disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands”? He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’ “. ~Mark 7:5-7
Think
Do you give good lip service to God? Do your actions reflect your words? A hypocrite gives good lip service, and the Pharisees in displayed just that. They talked a good game. But when it came time to live it out, they fell short.
Jesus convicted them of loving the law more than honoring Him in their hearts. He saw right through them, and He sees through us when our hearts are not sincere. We put on a different mask wherever we go, but the only mask we should be wearing is the one reflecting the image of Christ. What does your mask look like? Does it reflect Christ?
Changing our lip-service to heart-service towards God is the challenge Jesus is giving to us. He wants us to throw down our masks and live in the shadow of the cross. What better way to live than to honor Jesus with our hearts? Live a hypocritical-free life starting today.
Pray
Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you in areas where you are hypocritical. Ask Him to help you honor Him with not only your words, but with your actions.
Act
Read Mark 7:20-23 and reflect on what’s in your heart and how much you can identify with in this passage. Dwell on the Word of God and let it cleanse and change your heart, starting today.
