Blowing Trumpet
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6
Reflection of B:
I don't wish to make a sweeping statement here... but I really feel that some people are abusing their position as spiritual leaders to control other believers. *sigh*
Now I begin to feel or understand why some people don't want to go to church even though they still believe in God. For they see hypocrisy in some Christian leaders. I dare not use the word 'hypocrisy' on one particular pastor I knew, yet he seemed to be governing the church under his care as if he is God himself. May God forgive me for saying that!
Last Saturday, I was at my friend's church wedding. Her pastor told the bride's and groom's parents, in front of the congregation, that he was the one who "taught" them to honour their parents and to do good. Why must he said that? To claim credit? We were told in the bible that when we do good we should not blow our own trumpet. Yet what that pastor did was indeed blowing his horn.
Sorry, pastor, if you didn't mean it that way. But what you did was indeed making me feel that you are bragging about how well you "taught" your charges. God forbids!
Dear Lord,
Forgive me for having to said all these, but that's exactly how I am feeling, feeling indignant by what this pastor did and said. I pray for humility for him, and love and forgiving for myself for this pastor, for what he did to me. I pray for healing of wounds and the clearing of any misunderstanding. May your love reigns in our hearts and minds. May your kingdom come and Your will be done in our lives.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Labels: humility
posted by buzybee @ 4/21/2008 11:47:00 PM
3 Comments:
Criticizing our leaders can be difficult - especially since we are taught to honour and respect them. But, I would encourage to know and to believe that your first devotion is to the Truth and not to men. Of course, we have to be careful not to deceive ourselves, but to genuinely seek Truth and resist the temptation to form it in our own image.
I see no reason for you to apologize or to feel guilty. As Jesus Himself said: ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ - Matt 20:25-28.
I think it is a common temptation for men to want to lord it over others.
I just feel sad and bad that I have to experience and make the conclusion, which I fought to deny in the past. :(
I know the feeling of wanting to give the benefit of the doubt, of wanting to look away, of wanting to excuse. Eventually, you have to accept that even though people claim to serve the Lord, they are human and may fall short of the Ideal they profess to represent.
Fortunately, my general experience has been good with religious leaders. On the other hand, I was also privy to a lot of gossip that the general public was not, so I knew from an early age just how human our religious leaders can be.
Always focus on the Truth. Sometimes embracing the Truth means abandoning cherished ideas about how the Truth should really be.
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